Clarity
by jaimi-or-jaemi
Summary: After discovering a picture of Katherine, Elena decides that she needs get a perspective on what's going on around her and asks Bonnie for help. Things start changing from there. Warning, spoilers since I use the direct conversations from the show that match my story. Damon and Elena. I proof read everything, but if there is a bata out there I am willing.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Each chapter or chapter group is based off of the episode as I watch it, however with my changes to it. Starts off with the TV cannon of Stefan and Elena, however that ends far quicker than it does in the TV series. Pretty close to all characters will have at least one chapter to themselves, however as Elena and Damon are the main characters they are the ones who I have for the characters listed.

Elena's POV

The night had started out good. The sex, while not mind blowing was gentle and exploratory, and if it did not leave her completely satisfied she wasn't worried because she was sure things would change and get better. Afterwards, they had cuddled for a bit before Stefan had asked if she was thirsty. Surprisingly, she was so she said yes and he went to get something to drink. Stretching, she decided to explore the room while he was away because she had never been in it before. Many of the items made her wonder at the memories held within, but brought a small smile to her face just thinking about it.

Then she found it. The image of a woman who was identical to her, the woman who had broken both Stefan and Damon's hearts. Katherine. The image itself would not have been a problem, except he had never told her about the resemblance and she couldn't help but question why. Her heart feeling like it was going to shatter; she got dressed and bolted out of the boardinghouse, the desire to get away, to reflect driving her onwards.

As she hurled down the road, driving far too fast in her emotional state she spots a person standing in the middle of the road but does not have enough time to stop the car or swerve before slamming into him. The car flips over several times, scaring the living hell out of her, making her cry even harder than she had been as she tries to fight off a panic attack. Finally, after what seems like forever, it lands on the hood trapping her.

Stuck, she tries to break free of the car, particularly after she watches the person she had just hit pick himself up off of the road and approach her vehicle. Despite her best effort not to panic, she starts to scream. Just as the man gets near the car, his black boots clicking on the asphalt, he turns and runs away. Moments later Damon is there, kneeling next to the car and causing her to scream again.

Concerned, he asks, "How are you doing in there?" He is carefully studying the seat and the car.

"Damon," she gasps, still trying to get out.

Standing after a moment, he goes, "you look stuck," he lifts the car a little bit, giving her just a little more room as she mutters, "it's my seat belt."

Gently crooning to her, he comes back down to her height, trying to calm her down. His voice is soft and comforting as he instructs her to put her hands on the roof of the car. Slowly she does so, once her hands are in place he says, "Just like that, you ready?" and he pauses for a moment for her to nod, after her nod, he continues, "one, two, and three". Reaching out, he snaps the seat belt and helps to catch her so she doesn't land on her head.

Carefully lifting her out of the car, he holds her for a moment, inquiring, "Are you okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?" his face has a look of curiosity and concern mixed together.

Groaning, she shakes her head, tucking it against his shoulder as he carefully stands her but, but she is unsteady on her feet and nearly goes back down if not for the fact that he still has a hold of her. She starts to fall into oblivion.

"You are fading fast Elena," he mutters, more concern coloring his tone as his fingers carefully touch the back of her head, "Elena, look at me," he commands her placing the hand from the back of her head on her chin and softly blowing in her face. She stirs for a moment but it does not last, "focus, look at me here, it's alright," he murmurs to her comfortingly.

Finally she begins to come out of it just long enough to stutter, "I look like her," with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Damon looks at her confused for a moment, "what?" he asks just as she faints into his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV

As she collapses into his arms, he lowers her to the ground to check her over. What the hell had his stupid brother done this time? Nothing seems to be broken, she's just in shock, now what to do with her? Sighing, he mutters, "up-see-daisy," and lifts her up as he turns and leaves the wreckage. A few feet away he looks behind him at the car and decides that it cannot stay where it is. Sighing again he sets her down carefully on the grass before moving her car off the road so that it will not be in the way and will not be noticed before picking her back up.

He had been planning to visit his witch-friend Bree in Georgia. Perhaps she would have an idea as to how he could get into the tomb. He had not been expecting to have another person along for the ride, but really did not want to stop by the boardinghouse or her house with Elena in the condition she was in. Besides that, if her last comment before she passed out was anything to go by, it was his idiot brother's fault anyways that she was out on the road in that state as it was.

Even while considering what to do, he is still moving towards his car. Grinning to himself, he decides that he is going to take him with her. They both need a break from his brother, maybe while they are gone she would warm up to him some more.

Upon getting to his vehicle, he carefully places her in the passenger seat and fastens her in before going around to the other side of the car and climb in. The night goes smoothly as the miles pass them by. With each mile gone, he wonders how his life came to be the way it is.

He lives with his brother whom he both hates more than he loves. In a town that tried to destroy him for daring to want to be something other than the worthless son. The girl in the seat next to him looks strikingly like his lost love, yet their personalities are so different that they never blur in his mind. While he normally prefers to hunt and kill to feed, he had been keeping it low key and just using collage girls as lunch without ever killing them, unless you count the little death in the bedroom that his vanity insists on. For over one-hundred years his only goal had been to free Katherine from the prison within the tomb in hopes of finally having someone to make him happy. Yet things never seem to work out.

Sighing, he speeds up just a little and turns his thoughts back to the girl in the passenger seat. She's something different, changing his perspective on how things are and it's driving him nuts. Sometimes he wonders if he should just steal her from his brother if that would eliminate the curiosity about her, but he never does because it doesn't seem right to him.

Half-way through the day she finally begins to stir, the look of confusion on her face is priceless as she becomes aware that she is in his car and miles down the road. Of course, he is sure the fact it is daylight and nothing is familiar probably adds to that confusion.

With a wide smile he greets her, "morning," before turning his attention back to the road.

Slowly, still looking confused she runs her fingers through her hair asking, "Where are we?"

"Geor-gia," he replies, his face going back to its normal serious expression.

"Georgia?" she repeats, "no, no, no we're not. Seriously Damon, where are we?" she shakes her head in denial, still looking around.

Tilting his head towards her he answers her, "seriously, we're in Georgia." For a moment he pauses, looking at her bewildered face. "How are you feeling?"

She starts to answer but cannot seem to get past the "I" so he finally comments, "There is no broken bones, I checked."

For a short period of time neither spoke, he however was waiting for her to get around to asking about what had happened last night and how they got where they were. After all, the last thing she probably remembers is hanging upside down in her car. The array of expressions crossing her face is rather fun to watch, though his facial expression does not change to reflect that. Particularly since he is sure that she would not appreciate him laughing at how she is currently feeling.

The first thing that she decides to ask about is the man and her car, before going into a minor panic trying to locate her phone which is currently in his pocket. Eventually, she asks to pull off to the side of the road because she wants to find her phone and wants to get up for a moment. Once out of the vehicle she doubles over, causing him to rush to her side, a look of concern on his face. Personally, he is not sure what she is so concerned about. She needs to take a break, if only a small one.

The sharp ringing of Elena's phone in Damon's pocket brings the conversation to a standstill. With a smirk on his face, he pulls the phone out of his back pocket and glances at it, in a sing-song voice he says, "It's your boyfriend." He is curious how she is going to respond since she did not seem happy with him for the brief time she was awake the night before.

She just shakes her head, and turns away.

Smirking, he says, "I'll take it," before pausing to answer the send saying, "Elena's phone."

"Where is she?" he hears Stefan reply, sounding worried and concerned. "why do you have her phone, is she okay?"

"Elena?" he replies, "no she's right here, and yes she's," he pauses for a moment to smirk, "fine."

His brother sounds oh-so worried as if he's the problem, it's amusing, particularly since when he asks to speak with her, she shakes her head no again. Trouble in paradise, he wonders, this ought to be good, maybe she will tell me what's wrong while we are here. Before he hangs up on Stefan, Stefan tries to threaten him which just makes him smirk even more. As if.

That phone call seems to be the turning point because it takes little convincing after that to get her to finish the trip.

Finally she asks, "am I going to be safe with you?"

Immediately he answers "yes," nodding his head once. He knows then that it is just a matter of the distrust and getting past it.

Crossing her arms, she stares directly at his face, "you promise not to do that mind control thing?" All of this is said with a shake of her head.

Again he answers immediately with a "yes" and a nod of his head. He wants to earn her trust the only way to do that is to not manipulate her, which means no compelling her. His expression is serious as he waits for whatever else she has to say.

"Can I trust you?" she asks raising an eye brow.

Nodding towards the car he replies, "get in the car," the entire purpose of this is for her to see that he can be trusted so he is not going to answer that. Instead he will let her decide based on his actions. Walking over to his side, he opens the door and says, "Come on."

The rest of the ride to their destination is spent alternating between silence and conversation about her car and what had happened. When they finally get to where they are going, Elena is surprised to see that it is a bar. At first she comments on the fact she is not legal and won't be allowed in but he disagrees and heads into the bar.

The first thing that happens when he gets inside the bar is Bree looks up to see his smiling face and say in shock, "no, no it can't be." She pauses for a moment, "Damon?"

The years had been kind to her, he decided as he looked her over. She's still a lovely woman.

When she realizes it's him, she jumps over the bar and strides over to in front of him, "my honey pie," she says right before she grabs his cheeks and kisses him, pulling him close.

He can feel Elena's eyes as she stares at them, shock seems to be her number one expression right now as he embraces Bree and kisses her back. A small part of him wonders if Elena is wishing it was her. Several kisses later they finally take a seat at the bar. Bree gives a bit of a smart ass toast as she pours whisky in shot glasses and places them in front of him and Elena. Elena doesn't even get a chance to drink hers before he has downed it along with his.

Pouring another one Bree looks at Elena, "so, how did he rope you in?"

Elena starts to answer, "I'm not roped, actually I am dating…"

Before she has a chance to finish Bree interrupts to say, "oh honey, if you're not roped, your whipped, either way just enjoy the ride," she shakes her head the entire time she is speaking.

Damon is slightly smiling as he listens to the bi-play between the two of them, only adding his bit here and there, often with a smirk. As Bree comments on him being good in the sack, he wonders what Elena is thinking of the conversation or the idea but stays out of her head because he had promised to. Elena steps out for a moment and he decides to discuss with Bree the entire reason that he has come to visit.

The conversation gets them nowhere, according to her there is no way to undo the spell now that the crystal is gone. Some reason though he gets the feeling that she is either avoiding or hiding something because when Elena was with them Bree had no problems touching him, now that Elena has stepped out, she's avoiding physical contact which makes him wonder what she is hiding. Oh well, he figures, he'll get an answer soon enough.

As the conversation wavers he hears Elena's phone go off outside and listens in on her conversation with his brother.

"Elena, is that you?" the concern is still heavy in his voice.

"I'm here," she replies, though her tone implies that she is not happy.

"Where are you?" Stefan demands.

Before he can go any further she stats, "you lied."

At which point he interrupts whatever else she was going to say in order to plea for her to wait for him to explain the situation. Her response is fast and angry, pin pointing in on him, yet sounding like a question. Stefan tries to talk her into telling him where they are at but she will not break away from the situation with Katherine, when he goes to beg her to listen she finally hangs up.

As he listens to them, he moves outside so when she hangs up with his brother, he can fast move to behind her, inquiring politely, "are you okay?"

Sighing, she looks down then back at his face, snappishly commenting, "don't pretend to care. I know your gloating inside."

She walks back into the bar first while he stands by his car and thinks. He has been trying to show that he does care, at least in some small way. It must not be enough time yet, oh well the trip is not done yet. When we get back inside she is in the restroom so he orders them some burgers, fries, and pickles. She gets out of the bathroom just as the food is set down and glances at him slightly shocked.

"Burgers?" she inquires, looking at the plate in front of her seat and then his.

"Yep, if I am going to take you out for a bit to relax, I might as well make sure you get something to eat too." He answers, downing is drink.

After eating a fry she finally asks, "let's just say that I am decent from Katherine, does that make me part vampire?"

He shakes his head, finishing his bite in his mouth, "vampires can't procreate, but we love to try." His tone is flirty and he smiles at her rolling her eyes at him. "No, if you were related, it would mean that Katherine had a child before she was turned." In between each word he takes a bit of a fry.

"Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?" Elena asks chopping down on a fry in frustration.

"Kinda creepy if you ask me," he replies in between bites. To lighten the mood, he reaches over and steals her pickles joking saying, "come on, you don't like pickles, what's wrong with you?"

A slightly confused look crosses her face as she realizes he does not require food, "how can you even eat if," she pauses for a moment, leaning closer, "technically you supposed to be…" she trails off.

He glances around with a conspirators look as if he is looking to see if anyone is listening, "dead?" he whispers to her. Switching to a normal voice he continues, "it's not such a bad word, as long as I keep a healthy diet of," he pauses for a moment to look at her, "blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally." He shrugs, tossing another fry in his mouth.

She just smiles at his flippant answer and shakes her head. Staring at his face, she inquires, "this nice act, is any of it real?"

Part of him is annoyed she keeps questioning him, but he totally gets it. After all, she normally hangs out with his brother who never has anything good to say about him so why would she expect him to do something nice. "Mmmmhmmm," he finally answers, refusing to say more because he will not justify himself to her.

While she is still staring at him, Bree sets a new bear down in front of him, and she startles him by saying that she'll take one. Maybe she can relax if given the chance. The next few hours are spent with the two of them talking about whatever takes their fancy and playing shot games. Several hours later a guy walks into the bar, as he passes Damon, he senses that there is another vampire nearby. Instead of giving his hand away and knowledge of the other vampire, he continues to watch Elena who is still relaxed.

A few minutes later, he heads to the restroom for moment while Elena plays pool. When he returns from the restroom Bree asks him where she went. He looks around for a moment then hears that her phone outside on the ground. Curious, he walks over and picks it up, listening carefully he determines where she is at.

Just as he approaches, he hears her warn him but it's too late, he has already been caught in the trap. Another vampire rushes up and busts his knees, making him hit the ground in pain. For a moment he stops at which point, he asks, "what the hell?" as the other vampire fetches a can of gasoiline and dumps it all over him.

Elena climbs down from where she was placed and approaches to the two vampires, trying to figure out what's going on. For a moment Elena and the other vampire go back and forth, before she finally manages to convince him to be better than Damon and speed walk away.

Elena rushes over to his side, to help him back up. He shakes himself off after a minute and asks her to wait in the car while he grabs his coat and says goodbye. A combination of the pain in his legs and the smell of gas has his pissed off so he returns to the bar.

By the time he confronts her, he has his anger under control, but he can smell the fear coming off of Bree when she spots him.

Swallowing, she lies, "good to see you again Damon."

He raises an eye brow, inquiring calmly, "no kiss?"

She swallows again, stating, "I am full of vervain, I put it in everything I drink."

"And your telling me this why?" he asks sardonically.

Her voice almost breaks as she says, "Lexi was my friend," she pauses, "how could you?"

She turns away, but with his supper speed he is back in front of her. He can hear her heart racing as she says, "the tomb can be opened."

He shakes his head once, snarling, "You're lying…"

Before he gets any further, Bree interrupts saying, "Emily's grimoire, her spell book, if you know how she closed the tomb, the reversal process will be in her book. You can open that tomb.' Her voice is fast and babbly, fear causing her to stutter.

Advancing on her, he queries harshly, "and where is this book?"

She steps back, answering him, "I…" she begins stuttering worse, terrified because this is not the nice Damon that she is dealing with.

"You have no idea," he says as he backs her against the wall.

Shaking her head she pleas, "I am telling you the truth."

Using a gentle caress to the side of her face he replies, "And I believe you, my dear, sweat Bree. That's why I am sorry." Just as he finishes speaking he rips her heart out and lowers her to the ground. He does not take well to someone trying to kill him. Without missing a beat, he cleans his hand on her, walks over to his spot, and grabs his jacket. Calmly, as if nothing is going on he strides out of the building and to the car.

At the car he glances at Elena and asks if she minds them stopping for a bit, he wants to get cleaned up. She says she does so he finds a decent hotel to get a room. While she rests on the bed he grabs his spare outfit from the car and showers considering everything that had happened today. By the time he is done with his shower, she is fast asleep so he gets comfortable in the chair, contemplating the affects she is having on his life.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Elena's POV

Morning comes sooner than she expects, she is surprised to see Damon sleeping in the chair next to the bed, instead of on the bed. As if he can feel her eyes, his open and she is startled by how very blue they seem. Flustered she gets up.

A quick trip to the bathroom and she thinks she has herself back under control. He must have fast moved to the lobby and back because a cup of coffee is waiting for her on the table along with a bagel and cream cheese. As she drinks the coffee, she glances at him and asks, "So why did you bring me?"

He glances back at her, a slight smirk on his face, "well you're not the worst company in the world Elena."

She tilts her head to the side and considers his behavior for the last twenty four hours.

He flashes a smile as he continues to say, "you should give yourself more credit."

She cannot help but smile back, "seriously?"

He answers her, "I don't know, you were there in the road, all damsel in de-stress like." He pauses, tilting his head to the side, "I knew it would piss off Stefan, and you're not the worst company in the world Elena."

She smiles at him, then looks away, "I used to be more fun," she tells him.

He gets a serious face on, "you did okay."

She nods once, smiling and commenting, "I saved your life."

He raises an eye brow at her smirking, "I know."

"And don't you forget it," she replies watching his face.

As they stand up, he moves just a little closer to her, startling her a little. A small smile plays on his lips as he leans down and brushes them across hers, leaving her standing there shocked as he heads to the door.

"Let's go, I got to get you back." He tells her.

The ride back is uneventful, she is still shocked by the fact that he kissed her, and so softly. It confuses her because she does not know why he did so. When they get back he takes her to the boardinghouse so she can talk with Stefan.

As she walks into Stefan's room he is sitting at his desk. "Hi," she greets him.

"Hi," he replies as he stands up.

Without waiting for him to try to explain she comments, "You could have told me."

He nods once, "I wanted to tell you," to her it sounds like an excuse.

"You said no more lies, only the truth," she pauses for a breath, "I can handle the truth Stefan. As crazy as it sounds, I can handle the fact that you are a vampire and you have a vampire brother, and that my best friend is a witch. I can accept the fact the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible but this." Her voice is harsh, anger and sadness easily heard, along with disappointment. She is pacing around the room, her eyes locked on him, "this lie I cannot take. What am I to you? Who am I to you?"

He shakes his head answering, "you are not Katherine, you are the opposite of everything that she was." His voice is soft, gentle as he tries to calm her down.

"And when did you figure that out?" she demands, her voice softer now. "Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?"

He looks down for a moment before answering, "Before I met you."

That answer confuses her for a moment, and she gasps, "What?"

Looking directly at her he explains, "the first day of school, when we met, that wasn't the first time Elena."

She shakes her head, "then was it?"

Without hesitation he answers, "May 23rd, 2009."

"But that was…" she begins.

"That was the day your parent's car went off of the bridge," he finishes.

For a moment she stares at him, finally querying, her voice almost breaking, "you were there?"

"Ever couple of years I come back here, to see Zach and to see my home, and last spring, I was out in the woods by old Wickery Bridge and I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged, your dad, he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he would not let me help him, until I helped you." His voice is slow, steady, and slightly sad.

Elena listens in horror and sadness, tears begin streaming out of her eyes, "oh my god," she cries, shaking her head. "When I woke up in the hospital, no one could figure out how I got out of the car. They said it was a miracle."

"I went back for them, but it was too late, I couldn't save them." He tells her his voice breaking on the last sentence. "When I pulled you out, I looked at your face and you looked like Katherine, and I could not believe the resemblance, after that I spent months making sure that you were not her. I watched you, I learned everything I could about you, and I saw that you were nothing like Katherine, and I wanted to leave town. And Elena, I couldn't leave without knowing you, I am so sorry that I couldn't tell you, I wanted to but you were so sad." He is almost as depressed by what he is sharing as she is.

Finally, she regains control and asks, "Why do I look like her?"

He shakes his head answering, "Elena, you have been through so much." His tone is as if he will not answer.

"Why do I look like her Stefan? What are you not telling me?" her face closes off as the frustration gathers.

"It did not make any sense to me, you were a Gilbert, she was a Pierce, but the resemblance was too similar. Then I learned the truth," he pauses for a moment before finishing, "you were adopted, Elena."

For a while they say nothing, instead they sit on the bed as she takes in what she has just learned. Finally she asks, "How do you know this?"

Stefan leans towards her comfortingly, "your birth certificate from city records, it said Elena Gilbert, Mystic Falls General but there is no record of your mother ever being admitted, there is no proof of her ever being pregnant."

In tears, she turns and looks at him, "what else do you know?"

Shaking his head he says, "for me to go any further I would have had to look into the Pierce family and I couldn't do that, it's too much of a risk. If somebody found out I was asking about Katherine," he pauses as she starts to hyperventilate. "Listen to me, it doesn't matter, you are the woman that I love. I love you."

Still crying, she gives a watery smile and leans forward to kiss him but something still feels wrong. For a while he holds her as she processes everything that she has learned. Eventually, she sits up, wiping her face off.

"I need to see Bonnie." She tells him, "I am going over to Bonnie's."

Concerned for her he does not want her walking, as she goes downstairs, he tries to convince her otherwise, that she should stay there or go home. Damon pipes in that he can drop her off, if she would like, and grabs his jacket. Stefan gives him a look, not sure how much he has heard but not liking his interference.

Elena smiles weakly at Stefan, telling him, "Listen, I will go home when I am done over to Bonnie's." she turns to Damon, "thank you for the ride."

Stefan frowns at her, while Damon just smiles and the two walk out the door with Stefan watching them.

The ride over is quiet, she doesn't want to talk and he seems to realize that. When they get there, he glances at her and says, "do you want me to stick around to take you home?"

She smiles wanly at him, surprised by the thoughtful offer. "No, she can give me a ride, thank you Damon."

He flashes her his smirk, "anytime." As soon as she is out of the car, he pulls off and is gone.

Bonnie and her grandmother had heard the vehicle pull away come out on the porch, surprised to see Elena standing there. Bonnie can see that Elena has been crying and leads her into the house and to her room at her grandma's place. "Elena, what's going on?"

Sobbing, Elena pours the entire situation out to Bonnie, who sits there in stunned silence. Finally Elena looks at her, wiping her eyes. "I have a favor to ask you, I don't even know if this will work, but I am going to anyways."

Bonnie leans forward, listening intently, "what do you need?" she asks, hoping it is something she can do.

"Is there a spell that can help a person clarify their emotions? I don't want them to go away. I just want to be able to think clear headed." Elena's voice is soft, she knows that she is asking a lot but she is hoping that Bonnie can help her.

Bonnie stares at her for a moment, thinking hard, and then tells her "hold on just a moment, I need to go ask Gran."

Elena sits on Bonnie's bed, she knows what she is asking for might not even be possible, but she feels that she needs to find a way to understand the emotions but they keep trying to overtake her. Every time that she thinks that things are starting to go good, something turns up and her world is thrown back into chaos. Perhaps, if she has something other than alcohol or drugs that can help her get things sorted now, she will be able to keep them sorted. She doesn't plan on asking again because it seems unfair to Bonnie.

A few minutes later, Bonnie comes and gets her, taking her downstairs to where her grandmother is sitting.

Gran just glances at her as she sips her tea, "I understand that you asked Bonnie if there are any spells that can help to clarify things." She state, pouring a second and third glass and handing them to each girl. She waits until they have taken a sip than continues, "There is, but that can be dangerous type of magic because it doesn't always do exactly what you want. Are you sure that is the answer that you wish to try?"

For a moment Elena sits sipping her hot tea and thinking, she wants to explain this but is not sure how. Finally she says, "I don't want to go back to drinking or start doing drugs like Jeremy had, but I need to understand and I thought that it might be safer than some of the alternatives."

The three sit in silence for a while, then Gran directs Bonnie to go get her chest from the end of her bed. Bonnie nods and does so, heading out of the room. During this time, Elena can feel her eyes on her, but she says nothing. She is not going to try and convince her one way or another. After a few more minutes, Bonnie comes back with the chest and Gran digs through it, pulling out a small silver bowl, a vial full of some type of liquid, and a spell book.

"Well, if we are gonna do this, we might as well get it done." She directs Elena and Bonnie as to where to sit as she sets it up. "You're probably gonna get a headache, but once it clears the spell will take effect. It will last for twenty four hours or so, I guess it is a good thing tomorrow is Saturday because it will give you time to reflect."

Elena nods to her and pays close attention. Gran flips through the book until she gets to a picture of a perfect circle with a crescent moon inside of it. Slowly she explains it to Bonnie, and the two witches carefully cast the spell. Almost as soon as the spell is complete, Elena can feel a pounding in her temples. Gran directs Bonnie to take her home, which she does.

When Elena walks through the door, her aunt Jenna is sitting on the divan, turns and looks at her, "I don't set a lot of rule Elena, not with you, I trust you to tell me the truth, where were you and why did you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that." Her aunt's voice is full of fear, anger, and sadness.

Her temples pounding, she looks at her aunt saying, "Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies." With that she turns towards the steps and heads up them towards her room.

Jenna reaches for her, commanding her, "don't do that, don't turn this back on me I didn't do anything."

Snarly, Elena demands, "Okay, question. Am I adopted?" Jenna's eyes get wide as she stares at Elena's face, however Elena presses on, "I trust you to tell me the truth too Jenna, how could you not tell me? I thought we were closer than that."

Elena is almost all the way up the steps when Jenna finally finds her voice, "Elena, I didn't, they asked me not to."

"I don't want to hear it," she replies heading into her bedroom. Once within her room she sits on the bed and breathes deeply as Gran had suggested right before she left Bonnie's house. Over the next ew hours the headache begins to fade and her mind clears. As it does so she realizes so many different things.

The first thing to come to her mind was a memory of her speaking with her mother about love.

_They were in the kitchen, her mom was cooking dinner and humming when she looks at Elena and asks, "how are things with Matt?" _

_She sighs, thinking about how to answer it when her mom pipes up with, "that good huh?"_

_Chuckling, she replies, "I don't know, it just doesn't seem right, it seems too content or something." For a moment Elena pauses before she asks, "how did you know with dad?"_

_Her mom just smiles as if remembering her own courtship. "Some day you will meet someone who will be wild and unexpected, terrifying and thrilling. You'll probably do something to push them away because you will be scared to embrace what they have to offer. Don't do it, listen to what you heart and instincts say Elena, they are never wrong. Don't listen to what others say, because they won't be you, and only you can make a choice like that." She pauses for a moment in consideration, "Matt's a nice boy, but if there is nothing there, you should break it off. Its not fair to either of you to keep going."_

_For a few minutes they work in silence together in the kitchen, then Elena turns and asks her, "what if it never happens?"_

_Her mom just chuckled, "give it time, it will happen. When it does it will throw your world into a spiral." _

As the memory ended, Elena found she was crying again, but unlike the tears from earlier these were healing tears, the sorrow was finally being released. With the recollection of that memory she realized something else, as much as she loved Stefan, it was not the love of a lover, it was the love of a sister or a really good friend. She was not sure how she was going to tell him, but she knows it is the right thing to do.

There have been too many lies because even as she sits there and thinks on everything he had said today, she realizes that he had lied while she was in Georgia with Damon, he said he had no clue why she looked like Katherine but he had already known she was adopted so he did know something. Other little things also have forced her into this situation including the fact that kissing him had felt wrong.

Tomorrow she would tell him, for now, she had some writing to do in her diary.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Can I get any reviews please? I would like to hear somebodies thoughts on this so far, I should also have the next chapter up tonight or tomorrow, have fun!_

Elena's POV

The weekend goes smoothly, she spends most of her time at home, relaxing and thinking. The clarity spell is still in effect and things that had never been clear for her or that she normally wouldn't think about keep going through her. With each thought she continued to write them down and analyze them. The things that kept coming up though was her incompatibility for Stefan, her desire to tell her family the truth, and something just on the edge of her memory about Damon.

Later Sunday night, right before dinner, Stefan shows up. The two of them relax on her bed, discussing the just a few days before by the strange vampire that caused her to roll her car. Fear is one of her strongest motivators as she describes the situation to him. In the back of her mind though, the clarity is still going over detail by detail, so that she would be able to spot him by shape, or hear him by the way his boots moved. Eventually the conversation switches over to protection against the vampire, and the vervain items that Stefan has for her to give to her friends and family as she saw fit in order to protect them.

As the conversation wanes, Jeremy calls up to her that the pizza guy is there and she needed to bring the money, the four of them eat dinner before Stefan leaves for the night. Elena had not had a chance to tell them that they needed to talk about their relationship but she will do so and soon. After all, it's not fair to either of them at this point. With Stefan being elsewhere while the effects of the spell finally begins to fade.

Damon's POV

Sometimes the night is entirely too long, particularly when going through an old library attempting to find something that may or may not be there. By the time morning comes, books litter the floor just randomly laying wherever he throws them as he discovers they are not what he wants. Eventually Stefan comes wandering into the library.

"What are you looking for Damon?" he inquires.

"Not your concern," Damon replies, still going through books.

"No," Stefan answers and then continues, "but putting Elena in harm's way that is my concern."

"Hmmmm what are you talking about?" he comments, knowing full well that he is about to hear about the trip to Georgia.

"I am talking about Atlanta," Stefan responds, staring at him seriously.

With a cocky smile, he replies, "oh yeah, Elena had a blast." He still continues to go through the books, sure that eventually he would find his father's journal which hopefully gives the answer to where the spell book is.

With a shake of his head, Stefan opens his mouth and begins to speak in a cocky tone, "I get it, you're just bitter because one of us gets to be with the person we love , while poor Katherine is just out of reach, unless there is another way for you to get into the tomb. Is that what Bree said?"

He just continues to go over the books as he listens to his brother's pettiness. "Your pathetic when your fishing," he comments in response.

"You're transparent when you're deflecting," Stefan returns.

Finally, he turns to look at his brother, a lop-side smirk on his face, "don't you have school?" he inquires before going back to the books. The day seems to be going smoothly, if annoying because of the fact that he cannot seem to find what he is looking for. Finally he begins to wonder if the journal is not hidden elsewhere within the house.

Elena's POV

Morning comes sooner than Elena wants but she knows that her weekend of reflection is over. The spell had worn off the previous night while Stefan was there with a bang, causing her to have the same headache as when it was first activated. Preparing for school is almost a comfort after all of the thinking of the weekend. By time she has to go, she has her plan firmly incased in her mind, she will give Caroline, Jenna, and Jeremy pieces of the jewelry with vervain in it. As she leaves for the day she hands her aunt the bracelet she selected for her, for a moment Jenna is startled but shortly accepts the gift and hugs Elena as she leaves for the day.

Taking her aunts car, Elena heads straight to the school where she heads to class. At lunch time she catches up with Caroline. As they walk through the school campus she hands her the necklace and Caroline quickly puts it on.

Looking down at it, Caroline says, "it's so pretty, thank you." She pauses, letting go of it, "it will go with like everything. What's the occasion?"

Elena shakes her head as they continue to walk, "no occasion, it's just a little friend gift." She pauses for a moment on the word friend.

As the two girls come to a empty outside table, they set their stuff down and sit opposite of each other.

"Lesbian friend necklace?" Caroline joking ask, winking at her she continues, "kinky like that."

Elena smiles at her friend's antics, "your friendship is important to me."

Pulling out her lunch she smiles, inquiring, "why are you being so mushy?"

"Because," Elena begins, "you've been avoiding me. And I wanted you to know, whatever is going on with you and Matt," she pauses for a moment to nod, "it's okay."

Caroline's bubbly expression fades and a serious one crosses her face, "I was going to talk to you about that," she pauses to take a deep breath, "I was, but there is just not much to say." She shakes her head, still keeping her focus on Elena, "we hung out a couple times, but that's it. But," she pauses for another moment to collect her thoughts, "I just feel like we have peaked as friends."

When Elena does not immediately respond, Caroline begins to have a panic attack, "this is weird, I shouldn't be talking to you about this," she pauses looking down for a moment, trying to control the panic, nodding she repeats, "it's weird, it's weird right?"

Elena just smiles, allowing her friend to collect her thoughts before saying, "it's a little weird but if it is what you and Matt want than it is fine by me."

Looking at her inquisitively, Caroline says, "but it's all about you. Matt's not over you, so we all know it."

Elena shrugs, "I'm," she begins but pauses, the revelation of the weekend fresh in her mind, "Matt understands he has to move on," she decides to say.

Caroline just nods, slightly confused by the fact that her friend did not mention her boyfriend, was there something that she had not mentioned yet?

The two girls eat their lunch, sharing friendly chit-chat but both know that there is something else on the others mind, however in the renewed sense of friendship neither wish to bring it up. For Elena, the fact that she did not think of Stefan as her boyfriend automatically, causes her to wish to talk to him sooner than later. However, it seems that the soonest she will have a chance is after school tonight.

On Thursday after school, Bonnie and her head over to the Grill it catches a quick bite to eat. While there they discuss the fact that Elena is adopted and how she really does not want to talk to Jenna about it because she is mad at her for not saying anything. Part of their conversation also goes into details about the spell that Bonnie and her Gran had cast on Elena, she declines to answer, saying she still wants to think on it some more. They end the conversation after Bonnie points out that having a boyfriend who is a vampire hasn't thrown her off, what could be worse?

Eventually, Elena heads off to get stuff for the upcoming dance. She still is trying to figure out how she is going to tell Stefan that things are over between them without ruining their friendship.

Damon's POV

After watching and listening to the girls end their conversation, he waits for a moment for Bonnie to head towards the register before intercepting her.

Hostility pours from her as he steps in front of her, "what do you want from me?" she demands, starring directly at his face.

He nods his head once, a serious expression on his face, "I think we need a fresh start," he answers, trying to be charming.

Leaning forward a little she replies, "You tried to kill me."

He tilts his head sideways, quickly commenting, "But I didn't and if I wanted to I would have. Does that not count for anything?"

She lowers her voice, getting just a little closer, "you know I can start fires with my mind, fires kill vampires, right? Just stay the hell away from me."

Damon listens carefully, frustrated because he was trying to be polite and it is massively backfiring. When the bartender comes over to see what's going on, Damon decides to back off for the moment, there will be other times to deal with the witch. He can feel Bonnie's eyes on his back as he walks away and wonders when he will not automatically be the condemned one. He pauses just outside of the bar and listens to the small flirt that goes on between Bonnie and the bartender before shaking his head and leaving.

Elena's POV

Meanwhile, after getting a couple of accessories to go with her outfit for the decades dance, Elena is walking to her aunt's car when her phone starts to go off. She doesn't think anything of it and answers it normally, greeting the person on the other end. As she gets into her aunt's vehicle the voice on the other end makes a comment about her hitting him before and that she would not escape again. She heads directly home, slightly freaked out and writes in her journal before calling Stefan to tell him they need to talk.

The next morning she heads over to the boardinghouse to talk with Stefan about the vampire who was threatening her the night before. He hands her a pocket watch that she realizes belongs to her brother, when she inquires about it, he explains its special trick, the ability to detect vampire nearby and asks her to keep it with her so that she will have some warning. They discuss the watch and its history before he gently touches her check, he leans in to kiss her but she turns her head away so he kisses her check.

Sighing, she tells him that they need to talk and he agrees but wants to push it off until after the dance that night. She agrees but is mildly concerned that has been an entire week and she still has not had a chance to speak with him. She heads home where she finds her aunt getting ready for the dance as well. They discuss the car and the dance, before she cannot help herself in asking that her about the adoption. Jenna eventually answers with the version of the story that she knows.

Afterwards, she heads up stairs to get ready or the dance. Just as she finishes getting ready for the dance, she notices that the vampire compass-watch is going crazy, looking around the house, she doesn't see anyone so she calls Stefan only to have Damon answer the phone and tell her that Stefan should be there shortly.

Just after she hangs up the phone she hears a thump behind her as somebody grabs her shoulders. The next thing she knows, she's being spun around and a vampire is reaching for her throat.

"Elena!" she hears Stefan yell as she lets of a scream and he pulls the vampire away.

After Stefan throws the other vampire across the room it bolts out the door using its speed and he hugs Elena close, her nerves are on end because she had thought that she was safe within her own home. Agreeing it's for the best, they call Damon to have him come over so they can deal with the situation.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV

He is writing at a desk in the library, his thoughts are moving in rapid circle as he writes out the names of the founders. When his brother comes meandering in with his hands behind his back. He doesn't pay any attention to him except to make a comment on his hair and continues to write when Stefan drops an old journal on the desk next to him, which causes him to look at the journal curiously.

"Why are you bringing me dad's journal?" he inquires, still writing.

Stefan stands there, his arms crossed as he snottily replies, "Because you were looking for it."

He smirks, glancing at his brother asking, "And why would I want it?"

His answer is sarcastic and edgy. From there the conversation seems to get a little odder as Stefan offers to help him with the tomb and gives the cagy reasoning that he wants him gone for why he would help. Damon however doubts that he is truly being honest but goes with it because he is not sure what else to do. Stefan implies right before he leaves that Damon is the lair but they both know that's not actually the truth.

Shortly after he leaves his phone goes off and it is Elena asking where Stefan is at. He tellers her that Stefan was on his way over and should be there shortly and the conversation ends. Not even five minutes later the phone is going off again, this time it is Stefan on Elena's phone.

"Get over here, Elena was just attacked by the vampire from the road in her house." Stefan doesn't even give him time to answer before hanging up.

Sighing, he stands up and grabs his leather jacket before speed running over to her house. Minutes later he is walking through the door, he doesn't even bother to say hello, as he rounds the corner from the door to the living room he asks, "How did he get in?" with a slightly concerned and curious look.

Sitting on the divan, Elena replies her voice still mildly shocked, "he was invited in."

Next to her Stefan comments, "he posed as a pizza delivery guy last night."

He raises his eyebrows as he replies to them, "he gets points for that," his expression turns serious, before becoming curious again as he continues, "did he say what he wanted?"

Elena turns to look at him as she answers, "no, he was too busy trying to kill me." Her voice has calmed drastically in just the short amount of time he had been there.

"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan asks as if Damon is responsible for the attack while giving a small shake of his head.

Rolling his eyes he replies, "No, don't look at me like that, I told you we had company."

Elena had glanced away, but looked back at him to inquire, "You think there is more than one?"

Again he raises his eyebrows, "we don't know."

For a moment everything is quiet then Stefan opens his mouth and states the obvious. "Damon, he was invited in."

He merely nods, he had already figured out what needed to be done without having his foolish brother have to tell him, perhaps though he is saying it for Elena who is still getting used to their life. "Then we go get him tonight," he replies in all seriousness while nodding. Looking at Elena, he inquires, "you up for it?"

Elena looks him dead in the face asking, "What do I have to do?"

"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance, we'll see who shows up," he replies with disdain evident in the word boyfriend.

"It's a bad idea," Stefan comments shaking his head.

Pathetic he thinks, did my idiot brother really just make that comment? Shrugging, he explains, "till we get him this house isn't safe." Elena turns to look at Stefan, her expression troubled as Damon continues, "for anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot."

Taking a deep breath Elena commits to the plan, "I'll do it."

Both Damon and Elena nod once then look at Stefan who just stares at them.

"I'll be with the two of you, I will be safe," Elena comments, finally Stefan nods that he is also in.

The brothers share a look of understanding between them, though Damon is sure that Stefan is internally seething at the idea of working together. With that the three get into Elena's car and head to the school.

Once there, they head into the school. Upon entry, he can feel somebody's eyes glaring at him and he looks around for a moment just to discover who it is as the feeling goes away. Everything about him is on alert, he is the hunter here, not the prey and he doesn't plan to change that. They lead Elena over to a table and walk around the room for a moment.

From the other side of the room he hears Elena greet Caroline and Bonnie. "Having fun?"

Caroline is the one to answer, "No," she replies, and then motions to her outfit, "but this took about two hours so I am going to stay for at least half of that."

Bonnie spots him and demands, "what's Damon doing here?"

Elena takes a moment to answer and he feels her eyes pass over him, "he wanted to come, I promise, he'll behave."

"So what is this like a three-some now? You and the Salvatore brothers?" Caroline asks in a snide voice.

"No," she replies and pauses before continuing, "if I am going to be friends with Stefan then I am going to get to know Damon as well," she pauses for another moment before saying jokingly, "it's not like I can kill him."

"There's a thought," comes Bonnies snarky reply.

Caroline glances his way as well, "Umm, I'll help." The two girls toast to it.

Really, he thinks as he stops paying attention to their conversation, I've been nice lately. Some people really need to loosen up. And what was that comment about being friends with Stefan about I wonder, I thought that they were all lovely-dovey dating. That's something to think on later when there is not another vampire out there.

Again he feels a familiar gaze on him and turns to look at a tall man wearing a sports jacket standing with Elena's aunt, their eyes meet for just a moment as he considers who he is. With a shake of his head he decides to wander over to where Bonnie and Caroline are sitting while Elena gets something to drink.

"Hi Bonnie," he greets her, "wanna dance?" his voice is soft and charming.

If looks could kill he'd be dead again, he thinks as she replies, "I'm outta here."

Lightly grabbing her arm, he turns up the charm factor still looking her in the face, "please give me another chance." She just turns and walks away.

Caroline gets up near his face and firmly commands him, "back off Damon," before following her friend.

As he watches them walk away, Elena and Stefan approach.

Curious, Elena asks, "Where did they go?"

He just looks around for a moment before replying, "I don't know."

While Stefan gets a cocky look on his face and sarcastically inquires, "what did you say to them?"

Rolling his eyes up, he replies, "I was perfectly polite." Pausing for a moment he looks at Elena, "Elena, would you like to dance?" his well practiced smirk is on his face as he asks.

Smiling at him, she replies, "I would love to," and holds out a hand. Stefan stares on in shock as the two of them go and dance for a song. The expression he sends towards Stefan is nothing less than conceited but at the end of the dance she smiles at him and then goes to ask Stefan to dance instead.

As he watches her dancing and chatting with his brother the man wearing the sports jacket walks up to him. "I don't recognize you, how did you get roped into chaperoning?" he inquires. Damon just glances at him for a moment and he continues, "Alaric Saltzman, I'm the new history teacher."

Shaking his hand, he replies, "Ah the cursed facility position."

Alaric smiles ironically, "so I have been told."

After a moment he introduces himself, "Damon Salvatore," glancing at Alaric before looking back at Elena and Stefan.

"Salvatore," Alaric repeats, "as in Stefan?"

"He's my little brother," he pauses for a moment, "I'm his legal guardian hence the chaperoning."

"I here he is very bright, not that I have had a chance to see for myself." Alaric comments.

"Well his attendance record is a little spotty, family drama." Damon answers, glancing back at Alaric.

"No parents?" Alaric asks, his expression focused in on Damon's face in a way that made him want to throw him at a wall.

With a small smile he replies, "it's just the two of us now.

Alaric nods and for a moment there is silence before he inquires, "you ah, you live here your whole life?"

"On and off," he replies with a nod, "travel a bit."

"Really? Where? Around the States?"

Damon tilts his head sideways wondering who this guy is who kept watching him and is now trying to dig for information. A slight smirk comes to his face as he looks at him.

After a moment of silence Alaric chuckles, "I'm sorry, I'm nosy I do not mean to pry." He pauses for a second looking around before looking back at Damon and saying, "look, it was nice meeting you."

"You too," he replies watching him as he walks away. Something about him strikes him as familiar but he has other things to deal with instead and goes back to watching Elena.

The song great balls of fire comes on and as the two of them dance, Stefan goes to kiss her and she turns her head to the side so he gets her check. A slightly confused expression crosses his face as he tries one more time and fails again.

She stops dancing and steps back, "we need to talk," she tells him, "afterwards. There is something I have to tell you."

It's the second time tonight that Damon had noticed her acting less than girlfriend-like towards his brother and wondered what that was all about. He might just have to listen in on that conversation. It is bound to be interesting.

With a shake of his head, he picks a girl out to dance with as Stefan and Elena step off to the side. Even though he is not next to her, he listens to what she has to say and notices when she tells Stefan that she spots him in the back, however he does not react because he doesn't want her to realize that he is listening in. Stefan takes off towards the person while she comes his way.

A moment later she stops as her phone rings and she answers it. The next thing he knows she out the door and gone. Stefan is next to him within a moment, and the both of them track her to the cafeteria where she is fighting off the vampire rather well for a human.

"Hey dick-head," he calls out distracting the vampire, "nobody wants to kill you, we just wanna talk."

The vampire goes to use his speed to go after Elena as Damon tosses a broken piece of mop handle to Stefan who impales him with it. The following few moments are enlightening as Stefan moves the handle around as we question him rather violently about why he was after Elena and what he knows about Katherine after he brings her up. When he finally decides he is done talking, Stefan removes the handle and shoves him into his heart, killing the unfamiliar vampire.

Gasping, in shock Elena demands, "how are you going to find the others now?"

Damon glances over at her, his arms crossed, his face serious, "he had to die."

She turns to him, still gasping, "but," she begins but Stefan cuts her off.

"Elena, he's been invited in."

Outside of the cafeteria the three of them hear a noise and turn to look, the silhouette of a man passes the door.

Stefan looks at him and says, "Go I got this," so he heads out, following the guy.

A few halls over he catch up with Alaric, and uses speed moving to appear in front of him.

Alaric swallows, "hey," he mumbles.

"What where you doing?" Damon inquires, for a moment he questions him using his compelling ability before returning to Stefan and Elena.

While Elena is getting herself straighten out, the two brothers lean against opposite walls and talk about the vampire they just killed. One thing is for sure, it is unlikely he was on his own. Stefan realizes what Damon was looking for in the library and the discussion becomes a continuation of the one from the library.

Elena comes out of the bathroom ready to leave the dance and the three of them leave.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_This one's for you 9linn8, sorry it's a chapter late, the last one got a bit long. _

_Reviews are really appreciated. _

Elena's POV  
Back at her home after the dance, Elena sits on the couch while Stefan is in the kitchen making something for her to snack on.

"Doing okay?" he asks, pausing for a moment.

She turns around on the couch and replies, "Is it weird if I say yes?"

"Is it true?" he answers.

"I should feel more upset or scared or something, but I feel kind of exhilarated," she responds.

She watches him as he walks towards her, "it's the adrenaline," he tells her, "you'll crash soon enough."

She looks at the ground and comments, "yeah I guess." For a moment she pauses, then she perks up as she tells him, "I fought back tonight, it felt good."

As he walks over to his seat, he smiles saying, "you shouldn't have to fight at all."

He hands her a cup and her snack as she sighs, "still." She is getting ready to tell him about the spell when he turns to her with a serious face.

"I need to tell you something, and I don't know how you are going to feel about it."

"What?" she asks, wondering why he looks so grim.

It takes Stefan a moment to begin, "I told Damon that I would help him get into that tomb. Get Katherine back, but it was a lie. I let him believe that he could trust me."

She gives a small shake of her head, "then why would you be worried about telling me?"

"Because he can be very," he pauses for a second to choose his word, "persuasive, and you two have bonded lately." She could hear how bitter he was on the word bonded.

She tilts her head sideways and looks at him for a moment, "that doesn't mean I trust him, it will take more than just a road trip and rescue to forget who Damon is and everything he has done."

Stefan shakes his head, "I don't wanna be his enemy, but I can't let him do it."

She says nothing in response to this, just watches him. Something is nagging at the back of her mind but she cannot quite figure out what it is. For a moment they just sit there, and he smiles at her thinking that the silence is an agreement, when in truth it is not.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" he asks after a bit.

She sighs, and sets her snack down, taking a deep breath she looks at him before she begins, "last week when I got back from Atlanta with Damon I felt so much confusion, shock, and pain over what had happened that I went over to Bonnie's house when we got talking because I wanted her help. Well the help that I wanted was some sort of spell to help me clarify things, to help me get my thoughts orderly." She pauses in her explanation for a moment, "her Gran is actually the one who cast the spell but it worked."

Again she pauses, his expression has turned to concern because he does not like the way that this sounds. "Elena, what did the spell do?"

"Well Stefan, it makes things clear for me, allows me to think logically without all of my emotions causing confusion. I discovered a couple of things, and the first thing is," she stops again. The expression on his face is breaking her heart because she knows that he realizes where this is going. "We're not going to work, the emotions I feel for you are not those of a lover, there those of a sister. I want to be your friend, I really do, but we can't date."

For a moment he just sits there in shock and horror, he clearly was hoping that was not what she was going to say. As she watches his face, its expression is replaced by one of denial. "Your under compulsion, you weren't wearing your necklace while you were gone and he has you under compulsion. We'll just have her do it again and it will be okay," he is just about babbling but the panic can be heard clearly in his voice. Even though it is late he grabs her arm and continues on, "come on, we'll go over there right now and she can redo the spell."

She pulls away from him, shaking her head, "no Stefan, we're not going over there tonight, and I am not under compulsion."

She can tell he is not listening as he decides to bodily pick her up and speed runs over to Bonnie's house in a matter of minutes. By the time he sets her down, Elena is rip-roaring-mad at his behavior. "Stefan!" she exclaims, "not tonight."

Just as she goes to walk away Bonnie pulls into the driveway and gets out of her vehicle. "Is everything alright?" she asks, her voice having a happy edge though concerned.

Stefan shakes his head, telling her, "you have to redo the spell, she, she thinks she doesn't love me anymore. Please Bonnie, redo the spell."

Elena and Bonnie share a look, and a mutual understanding is passed between them. Without arguing with him, she goes "alright, let me grab my stuff and we'll go over to Elena's house." Bonnie goes inside for a moment and comes back out with her backpack on her shoulder, "come on, into the car, I'll drive." She rolls her eyes as the three of them climb in.

When they get back to Elena's house the three of them go up to Elena's bedroom where Bonnie carefully set up. After a few moments she sat crossed leg across from Elena and began to softly chant, "Per vivamus in hoc mundo, in anima per ignem, aquam, quae nos a spirantibus aer. Intellectus enim quaero, ego claritatem opus."

When she was done with the chant the candles that she lit did not flare up like the last time, frowning, she blew them out relit them and said the chant again, this time with more feeling to it. As she said the last word the candles flared to life before going out and Elena grabbed her head as sharp pains shot through her temple.

The last time the spell had been cast she had gotten a headache immediately after the casting as well but it was not as bad as the one she currently had. Within moments she had blacked out on the bed, much to Stefan's horror. A few moments later she awoke to Bonnie packing the rest of her things, her head was still throbbing but she could focus.

"Bonnie, are you sure she is alright?" Stefan asks in a worried tone, not noticing that she has waked back up.

Bonnie sighs, turning to look at him, "listen Stefan, the only reason I cast it on her is because I knew you would not back off otherwise, Gran warned her there would be backlash if it was used on her again too soon, but I have a feeling you were not going to give her a choice. She will be fine in the morning, though very reflective if I go by what happened last time." Bonnie pauses for a moment, considering what Elena had told her the last time, "make sure she has something to write on when she wakes up, she said it helps her to process."

With that Bonnie comes over to the bed and notices that Elena is awake now, "hey," she says softly, "I'll talk to you later, be careful alright?"

Elena nods and the girls give each other quick hugs before Bonnie takes off.

Stefan carefully picks Elena up, telling her, "I'm going to take you to the boardinghouse so I can keep an eye on you since it is my fault you are like this." Elena nods, half asleep and passes out the rest of the way.

Morning comes early for Elena who awoke with the headache clear and her mind racing. Carefully, so not to disturb Stefan she climbs off his bed and pads over to his desk where she sees her journal sitting. Grabbing a pen she starts to write as the thoughts rush through her head like a streaming video.

_That night had been horrible, she had gone to a party to hang out with her boyfriend rather than stay home with her family. However the night did not go as she wanted it and she had a fight with Matt. Now as she waits outside for her parents to arrive she is pacing back and forth in the front driveway. A little ways out she can see something lying on the road and concerned she goes to check on the person. _

_When she gets there, she discovers a handsome stranger with black hair, golden-cream skin, and a nice body. She kneels down next to him, saying "are you alright? Do you need me to call someone for you? My dad's a doctor he's on the way." _

_His eyes slowly flicker open and they are the bluest eyes she could ever remember seeing. "Katherine?" he murmurs questioningly, lifting a hand to touch her face. As soon as his fingers touch her a tingle goes through her body starting at where the contact was. _

_Slowly he sits up, he is still muttering to himself, "no, you can't be Katherine, I can hear your heart beat but you are so very similar to her." Finally he pauses and shakes his head, "I must have drank too much and got lost, what's your name sweetheart"_

"_Elena," she hears herself answering, she seems to be mesmerized by his eyes._

_For a few minutes they talk about her boyfriend and the fight that she has just left. Finally as she hears her parents car approaching, she asks, "who are you?"_

_He smiles sadly, "I'm Damon Salvatore," again he touches her check, "and you my beautiful Elena, will not remember any of this, find someone to make you happy."_

_Soft as a whisper his lips graze hers and he is gone, with him the memory of who she was talking to._

Tears are softly falling from Elena's eyes as her memory unlocks, her hand is moving quickly, barely stopping as she writes her thoughts on the paper. The compulsion to forget that Damon had placed on her is destroyed and with it that nagging feeling of forgetting something that she had been feeling ever since the first time the clarity spell had been cast on her.

As she looks over at the bed, she can see that Stefan is waking up so she uses her sleeve to wipe her eyes before saying good morning. The impression that they were not supposed to be a couple was stronger than ever, particularly in light of everything he had said and done the night before. If he was supposed to be the good brother why was he lying? Why did he know how to inflict the most pain without killing? Why was he the one who was always trying to hide things? To her, those questions equaled one thing, and one thing only, a hidden personality that she was not compatible with.

Other thoughts are also buzzing in her head, but she will record them in a little bit, perhaps she should ask Bonnie if there is a spell to keep people out of her journal with everything that she has been writing in it lately. Oh well…

_NOTES: The Latin translation is from the translator on Google means =By earth that we live on, by fire in our soul, by water which we are, by the air which we breathe. Understanding I ask for, clarity I need._

_Also I have never seen the episode where she gets her memories of meeting Damon back so I am using creative license to decide how it went, I just know that she had meet him first according to a timeline on the official wiki for this. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Stefan's POV

Walking over to the bed, she perches on the edge of it and begins to talk softly, "I want you to listen to me Stefan, and listen good. There is no compulsion on me. None what-so-ever, I am clear headed and able to think without a single problem. We will not work. I do not feel the type of love that you want, all that I feel the love of a sibling for you, that's it. I hope that we can remain friends, because I think we would be great friends but nothing more. Do you understand?"

Stefan just stares at her with horrified eyes, he was hoping that once the spell had been recast that she would go back to loving him. But listening to her now, he realized that she had been telling the truth the first time. Not for the first time in his long life did he wonder if he was cursed to forever be without the one that he wanted. Maybe if he tried to woo her he would be able to get her to change her mind, but as he listened to her he realized that the chances of that happening were slim to none.

Sighing, he sat up on the bed and went to say something only to have his brother come waltzing in like he was invited. "Rise and shine sleepy heads," he says as he perches on the end of the bed as if he doesn't notice that Elena is sitting fully dressed on the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" he asks, sitting upright in the bed.

Damon rolls his eyes, "oh stop being smutty, if I see something I haven't seen before I will throw a dollar at it."

"Seriously, get out of here, can't you see where trying to talk?" his voice is rough, the sadness from what Elena said cutting through him worse than a knife.

"Now listen,' he says leaning forward and locking his eyes on them, "there is some very important business to discuss," he begins but Elena interrupts him.

"And it has to be right now?" she asks rolling her eyes at him.

"Oh, we have lots to do, now that were all," he pauses for a moment for effect, "friends and working towards a common goal." Stefan and Elena roll their eyes at each other as Damon stands up still talking. "So in order to open the tomb, we need to get the journal to find the grimoire to undo the spells. So first thing is first, since you are Elena Gilbert, you're on journal duty." He puts emphasis on her last night.

She doesn't say anything in response to his direction, instead she continues to perch on the edge of the bed and watch him. To Stefan, she seems to be going with the flow but it is annoying the hell out of him because he wants to try and talk her out of her decision, not that he thinks it is going to work.

After a moment of silence, he asks Damon, "how do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire? Are we really going to take the word of that vampire, he seemed like a bit of a dimwit."

Smirking, Damon replies, "in-lue of any other options."

Finally Elena joins the conversation and asks, "what exactly is a grimoire?

Damon closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his head, replying, "it's a witch's cook book."

Stefan is the one to give a more definitive answer, "every spell a witch casts is unique onto itself so every witch will document their work." He is trying to impress her with understanding of the subject but gets interrupted by Damon.

"Yeah," he comments, raising his eyes he continues "cook book."

Aggravated with his brother and just wanting to get him gone he asks the next thing that comes to mind,"what about our mystery vampire? Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone. So whoever is out there knows who we are."

Before he had a chance to say anything else, Damon interrupts again to tell them, "and I do not like that disadvantage so," clapping his hands together he continues, "Chop, chop." before walking out of the room.

For a moment he just sits there staring after his brother like he would like to strangle him. Eventually, he sighs and shakes his head. Turning to face Elena, he sees that she is still sitting on the edge of his bed watching him. Her eyes are sad but clear as if she has an understanding that cannot be denied and will do what she has to do.

"Just please tell me you're not going to just replace me," he begs her, staring hard at her face, "particularly with him. Not now anyways." He shakes his head, trying to clear the frustration that is clogging his thoughts.

She sighs and scoots further on the bed, replying, "I am not replacing you, right now no one would be a match for me. But Stefan, you have to understand that we will never date again, it just wouldn't be right. I can't promise anything for the future yet but I know for now you're not being replaced. "With a small smile, she hugs him before standing up and grabbing her journal, "I'm going to see if there is anything to eat, that spell makes me really hungry," before he has a chance to say anything she is out the door and down the steps.

Sighing to himself he lays back on the bed, his arms behind his head. Why does his life have to be like this? Nothing seems to go his way, the only pleasure that he currently can take is in the fact that things don't seem to be going his asshole brothers way either. Well, even if things were done between them, she wanted to stay friends and he figured that was better than nothing at all.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Alrighty people, I will not be posting anymore chapters till I get at least 10 reviews. Reviews keep the typing going smoothly and let me know if it's been worth posting_

Damon's POV  
Some time I wonder how stupid Stefan really is if he thinks that I did not hear the exchange those two were making? I mean seriously, I'm a vampire for god-sake, he thinks to himself as he sets to work in the kitchen making something to eat for Elena. I do wonder what brought about this change, but it's not something that I plan to question too much, after all, I have a feeling it's going to be fun watching my brother be tormented by desiring a woman who doesn't want him.

As Elena enters the kitchen he turns and smiles at her, "Morning, now that you're not looking all serious, how are you?" he asks as he fries up an omelet with cheese, ham, and diced vegetables.

She chuckles softly, sitting with the journal on the table in front of her, "I'm awake Damon, how are you?"

He waits a moment to answer, first flipping the omelet than putting it on a plate and setting it in front of her, "I'm good, there is a plan and maybe things will go right," he answers.

"Damon," she asks, "Do you ever wonder why you want her so much?"

It startles him because it's not the question he was expecting. He thinks about it a moment before replying, "she wanted me," then he shrugs as if to say that was reason enough.

For a few minutes neither says anything and instead sits eating in companionable silence. Finally, Elena glances at him and inquires, "Do you think I could read your father's journal some time?"

If breathing was important to him, he would have been choking at that point from his coffee going down the wrong tub as he swallowed wrong in shock. That really was not what he was expecting her to say. He just studied her for a minute before getting up, before she even could comment on his being gone he was back and sitting the old journal down in front of her.

"I don't know why you want it," he tells her, "but here it is."

It is not long after that that Stefan comes down from his room, the look on his face when he sees them sitting there eating is one of jealousy and anguish. That should have been him sitting there with her according to his look.

The two finish up and Elena thanks him for the meal before saying she wanted to get home, a quick glance at him and she lifts the journal up, sitting it on top of hers before picking both up and hugging them against her chest. Right before she leaves, she sends him a small smile of thanks.

All he can think about is how different it was to be sitting at a table with someone who was not trying to degrade you and was willing to be friendly, the only time he could remember getting that type of easy going companionship was with his cousins the Septies. Perhaps it was time to give them a call again, after all, one of these days his foolish brother would need to meet them.

Perhaps, he thought, just perhaps, I can have my own happy ending here. Maybe I don't need Katherine to have someone who wants to be around me. Maybe it is time to move on. Lost in thought, he did not hear them leave.

Elena's POV  
She was surprised at how well Stefan seemed to have taken the news and her decision. It was startling her to tell the truth because she figured he would try to argue with her or dissuade her. He fast moved them to her house and stopped out front, standing there as if he was not sure if he was still welcome or not.

"Well come on," she tells him smiling, "I am not going through all of those old boxes by myself."

The next few hours pass in a blur as they dig all of the boxes out of the attic containing the family's things. Many of the items found are small mementos of times since past that's purpose can only be found in the journals from their respective owners. However, the one journal that they want to find seems to be nowhere in sight so far.

"Do you think he believes you, that you want to help him?" she asks as she goes through yet another box.

Sighing, Stefan sits in a chair with his arms resting on the back of it and the one next to it. "I don't think Damon knows what to believe anymore. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him."

Something in his tone of voice tells her that it's not so much that it does not come naturally to him, as it is that he has been hurt to many times to trust. When she makes a comment about him doing what he is doing in for love, she is surprised by Stefan's answer.

"There are other ways to get what you want, you don't have to kill people, Damon has no regard for human life, he enjoys inflicting pain on others." He pauses for a moment, leaning forward with a serious expression on his face, "For one-hundred and forty-five years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

Like his previous statement, this brought the clarity spell into full swing as she realized that no matter what Stefan would always portray his brother in the worst possible way, with that she had to wonder what else he had said about his brother that might not be completely accurate or that he was not telling her the entire story of. Something in what he is saying rings false but she cannot figure out what it is without more facts. One thing she does know is perhaps Damon isn't the dark brother that Stefan tries to make him out to be.

Sighing she says nothing and continues to look through the box until she comes across an old sepia picture of a man with a beard, suit, and hat. Stefan stands up and comes over to look over her shoulder, saying, "That's Jonathan Gilbert."

As she looks down, she sees a small chest and picks it up muttering, "What's this?" as she opens it. Inside of it she finds the tools needed in order to slay vampires, or at least the tools he would have used in order to slay vampires, Stefan stands up with a shocked and worried expression on his face.

Moments later, Jeremy comes walking and spots what they are doing. "What are you guys doin'?" he inquires looking at the boxes and the stuff that she is going through.

"Hey," she begins, closing the box, "just going through some stuff, feeling sentimental, dad had this old family journal from years ago that I thought that I'd dig it out."

Jumping up on the counter he queries, "Jonathan Gilbert's journal?"

She tilts her head to the side and replies, "yeah what do you know about it?"

He motions to the boxes, "I just did a history report on it."

Both Elena and Stefan are surprised by that, but Elena still manages to comment, "Oh, so where is it now?"

Jeremy glances at her curiously, "I gave it to Mr. Saltzman he wanted to see it."

Elena glances at Stefan. She is sure that he understands what her look is. A few minutes later he excuses himself, probably to go see about getting that journal back from him. Meanwhile she decides to go upstairs to her room and work on writing in her journal the thoughts that are still going through her mind.

Now that she no longer has to worry about breaking up with Stefan other issues come to the forefront of her mind, the first is that she needs to explain the entire situation to her brother and aunt. She is not sure when she is going to do so, but it will be soon for the simple reason of she wants them protected and realizes that the best way to protect them in this case is for them to know what is going on. Her second thing that she feels she needs to do is spend more time with Bonnie, because she has not been spending as much time with her as she used to and she is sure with all of the changes that are going on in both their lives right now it would be a great thing for them both. While the third thing she wants to do is spend time with Caroline because she has been spending even less time with her than she has Bonnie. Another thing on her agenda is speaking with Damon about that first meeting, she wants to know why he had kissed her and why he had made her forget that they had ever met each other before.

Shaking her head, she notices the time and decides to get cleaned up before dinner. When she is done she heads downstairs to discover Damon in her kitchen cooking and speaking with Jenna. She is almost startled when Damon greets her. Glancing between the two of them, her aunt excuses herself and goes to her room to relax while Elena takes over helping Damon.

The first thing she does is grabs the plates to set the table. As Damon walks over to the kitchen sink, Elena and him run into each other. She continues to walk to the counter with the plates while he looks up for a moment before finishing what he started.

"Don't do that," she says, smiling as she sets the dish down.

"Do what?" he inquires turning to face her before turning back to the stove.

"You know what, that move was deliberate," comes her slight snobbish reply. The clarity spell is still working, forcing her to realize that she enjoyed when his body brushed against hers. Stefan might have given her feelings like a sibling but Damon did not.

"Well, yeah, I was deliberately trying to get to the sink." His answer comes as he motions to the sink with one hand while stirring the food with the other.

A sound between a sigh and a snort escape Elena as she turns to face him shaking her head before turning away again to continue what she was doing. When she is done, she turns back towards him and watches him carefully. The clarity is keeps making her think she is missing something but the pieces have not yet connected as to what she might be missing from his actions.

"Speaking of Stefan, where is he? He's missing family night which I am enjoying immensely." Damon turns to face her as he comments, a smile on his face that seems surprisingly genuine.

For a moment there is silence as she watches his features go from the smile in regards to the family night to a sadder, thoughtful look. That feeling that Stefan had not portrayed his brother accurately makes her desperately wish she had a chance to read the journal before having to see him. She thinks that whatever it is that keeps Damon the way he is will be reveled in the journal's entries and wants to discover it sooner than later.

Finally, the sad look still on his face, Damon asks, "Is it real?"

With a sigh, she asks, "Is what real?"

"This renewed sense of brotherhood," he answers as he tests the food. Turning, still looking sad and serious he continues, "Can I trust him?"

As she watches the emotions play across his eyes, she debates about whether to tell him the truth or not. It's so hard for her to decide, because this is Damon, she has seen and heard horrible things about him, and yet something is not adding up. The clarity that she sought keeps telling her to trust her instincts and her instincts keep telling her to trust him. After all, he has never lied to her or tried to hide what he is, unlike Stefan. Before she can answer she turns back to the counter and walks over to what she was doing. Her internal debate has caused her not to answer him, so he does the speed movement to right behind her.

As she turns to face him, he looks her straight in the eyes and asks, "Can I trust him?"

His startling blue eyes are studying her face. A concerned look has replaced the sad one of before.

Snarkily she answers, "I am wearing vervain, Damon, it's not going to work."

A slightly confused look causes him to narrow his eyes at her, "I'm not compelling you."

Startled, her expression changes to shock, her mind is reeling but it makes sense with the other behaviors that he has shown. A flash of memory shows her the changes to his eyes when he is compelling and she knows that he is telling her the truth.

"I just want you to answer me," he tells her swallowing, "honestly."

For a time she stares at his face so close to hers, thinking and trying to make the right choice. According to Stefan, Damon is nothing but an evil bastard who will do anything to get his way, yet the proof in front of her is the fact he is not trying to force her. As her mind whirls, she tries to process and just stops to watch his expression as he watches her intently. Eventually, she realizes that the only answer is to be perfectly honest with him. Stefan will be mad at her, but Damon has never lied to her and she does not wish to repay him with lies. The last piece of the puzzle falls into place within her mind, perhaps the reason he seeks Katherine so much is because she was the only one to show any sort of affection or care towards him. Things could have gone so very different had someone looked for the good instead of the bad within him.

It's on the tip of her tongue to lie to him, instead she finds herself replying, "No, you can't. I wish I could say you can but you can't." She pauses for a moment before continuing on, "I want that spell book too, though for a different reason. You want it to open the tomb, Stefan wants it so you can't have it, and I want it because it belongs to Bonnie and I want to give it to her."

He studies her in shock that was not the answer he was expecting. Before he has a chance to say anything more she goes to step away from him, leaving him remembering the past and when his brother had sworn to him that he could be trusted then.

Eventually he states, "There is a time I trusted him more than anyone..."

Before he gets to finish the sentence Elena interrupts to say, "Trust breeds trust," she pauses for a moment to try what she is making before continuing to say, "You have to give it, to get it."

Startled again, he inquires, "are you lecturing me?" his tone sounds like that is a novel concept.

Turning and walking towards him with a bowl in one arm, she puts her other hand on her hip and snobbishly answers, "do you need to be lectured?"

"I just want her back, I am sure you can understand that," his voice is soft, the sadness back in it.

"I can understand that you would do anything for her, yes." She answers as she walks past him, "I am not sure that is the right thing though, since from what both you and Stefan have said she was selfish and didn't really care about you, only herself."

Turning so he is directly behind her, he speaks softly by her ear, "then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way."

Shocked at the feel of his breath against her neck and ear, and at what he had said to her, she can do nothing more than stand there as he walks into the other room. She was honest with him, she had already told him that Stefan could not be trusted, yet he had not commented on that which she found surprising. Now she had to consider the implications of what he had said.

The only thing she could think was, it's a good thing that clarity spell has not worn off yet.

Damon's POV  
After warning Elena, about what he would do if anyone got in his way, he joined Jeremy in the living room to play on the x-box. His thoughts were going a thousand miles an hour. What had she meant when she said he could not be trusted? Was she lying or telling the truth? In what way could he not be trusted? It was driving him crazy, but he refused to ask, instead he would see how far his brother was going to go with this farce before calling his bluff. Elena, he sighed mentally, what are you doing? Can I trust you?

Chaos swarmed through his mind as he played with the x-box and chatted with Jeremy, this was the first time that he could remember someone being so up front with him. It was also the first time he felt as if he might belong. He could only hope it would not be crushed.

He might not agree with her about the spell book, hell he didn't even agree with her about Katherine but it did give him something to think about. She could have lied to him, and he wouldn't even of known it until it was too late, but she didn't. Though really, telling him she wants the book just for Bonnie makes him want to chuckle. Maybe she is right. Maybe he needed to think carefully about his choices before he made them. Something in the way she said it makes him think that maybe things aren't always what they seem.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Since I got a lovely request for the next chapter I will post it despite the lack of reviews. We'll just consider the fact I have lots of viewers reading it in the review place. Thanks again for the reviews 9linn8_

Elena's POV  
For a moment she watches him sitting on the couch with her brother, his posture relaxed as the two of them compete on a game, an easy conversation flowing between them. As she sets the table the rest of the way she thinks about the implications of his words and actions. A person who kills without thought would not warn her beforehand that they are going to kill. A person who hates all people would not be willing to help block emotions of a teenage boy in pain to lessen his pain. A person who is nothing but a liar would not be the one to always be honest. A person who doesn't care wouldn't take another on a road trip just so they could relax for a bit. A person who doesn't care wouldn't attempt to apologize to some of those whom he has attacked, though only a small number it still counts. Shaking her head she realizes that she needs to write more within her journal. Damon has given her more food for thought and the clarity is ripping everything she believes to shreds, destroying all of the misconceptions and lies. Now though, while she cannot get to her journal, is not the time to be thinking on the subject matter.

Jenna comes out of her room and into the kitchen, glancing towards Damon she whispers, "He's ridiculously hot."

She blushes a little, holding up a finger to her mouth and responding, "shhhh," for a moment she pauses glancing towards him, "he's an ass." She knows that he can hear her so she makes her voice sound light and joking, or at least that's what she is going through.

Within the last few hours she has decided that maybe someone needed to give him a different path to travel on, it wasn't going to be Stefan because there was too much history between them so that left her. Sure he was a killer, but if she was not mistaken it had been a few weeks since he had killed anyone. Past that, even when she had blood dripping from her body, he had calmly warned her to leave and had not attacked her that had to mean something.

With another shake of her head she goes back to looking through the boxes that she had gotten out in earlier, instead of looking for the journal she is now looking for something on who her real birth parents are. She has just finished looking through the first box when she hears the doorbell.

"That's Stefan," she tells her aunt, closing the box and heading over to the door, Damon comes up behind her and stands just a little to her back and left side. As she swings the door open, she smiles at Stefan though she can see the confusion in his face when he spots Damon standing with her.

"Well?" Damon questions in place of a greeting.

Stefan looks between them one more time before stepping inside the house. The five of them sit down at the table for the dinner that Damon had prepared. While before Stefan arrived an easy conversation had flowed but now the tension could be cut with a dull butter knife. Despite that, dinner goes mostly well. There are no serious outburst or other problems that have to be resolved right then. After dinner the three of us step out while Jenna cleans the kitchen up with Jeremy's help, according to her it is only fair since we did the cooking.

Out on the porch Stefan tells them that Alaric doesn't have the journal anymore. Damon gets slightly frustrated and thinks that there is something off about the teacher while Stefan discounts that idea.

When Damon asks, "who else knows it was there?" both Stefan and Elena look inside the window at her brother who has gone back to playing his game now that dinner is over.

Damon, catching their view goes inside and perches on the edge of the couch next to Jeremy, "so, I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day, who else did you show it too?"

Jeremy, who is only paying half attention responds with a "huh?"

Smirking, Damon says, "don't ask questions, just spill."

Startled, Jeremy looks his way, "you're kidding me, right?"

She leans over Damon's shoulder and inquires, "Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Jonathan Gilbert's journal?"

With a look of annoyed curiosity he responds, "why is everyone so obsessed with that thing?"

"Who else did you tell?" she answers, she is only hoping whoever it is, is not out to hurt them.

He thinks about it for a moment, "umm, just that girl Ana."

"The hot, weird one?" Damon queries, still keeping his eyes on Jeremy.

He nods, "yeah."

Before Damon or Elena can comment, Stefan asks, "Wait, who's Ana?"

Turning towards Stefan, Damon replies, "that's what I wanna find out." Just as Damon turns back to Jeremy, Elena's phone begins to ring. "How do you know her?" he asks.

Elena grabs her phone and heads upstairs to answer it. "Okay, I'm alone, give me all the dets Bonnie, I'm dying."

"Its going great," she hears her friend answer in a joyful voice. "He's a perfect gentleman."

"A gentleman huh?" she asks jokingly as she rubs her neck smiling.

"I know, boring huh. I just wanna grab him and lay one on him." Her friend's voice has changed from joyful to husky.

"So why don't you?" she asks, the smile evident in her tone, she is walking around in her room as she talks to her.

"'Cause I'm a chicken."

Almost laughing, she answers that, "you're a powerful witch goddess, come on, seize the day Brumhilda."

Bonnie chuckles at her, replying, "Okay, I'm going to text you later with more details."

"You better," she tells her while she begins to play with her necklace. As she hangs up the phone, she turns around to see Stefan walking into the room. "Where's Damon?"

"He left to track down Jeremy's friend Ana to see if there is anything there." He replies, looking at her seriously.

With a concerned look on her face she asks, "Aren't you gonna go with him, if he gets the journal before we do…"

She doesn't get to finish the sentence because Stefan pulls a packet of papers out of his pocket, "it doesn't matter," and holds them up.

She looks at the papers in his hands, questioning, "What is that?"

"It's a copy of it," he smiles, a rather smug smile that grates on her nerves.

Curiously she asks, "How did you get it?"

"Well, Mr. Saltzman made a copy, and was kind enough to loan it to me," he replies, his tone full of cockiness.

Not believing that it was that simple she sharply answers, "He did?"

He shakes his head a little, some of the smugness and cockiness gone, "not exactly," he tells her, "but I got it."

She just sighs, smiling and looking at. For the next little while the two of them look through it in order to discover where the spell book is supposed to be stored at.

As she reads it, her thoughts are going a thousand miles an hour again, still as clear as day however. Again she questions, if Stefan is the good brother, why does he use underhanded tactics in order to get what he wants? With a renewed feeling of purpose, she knows that giving the spell book to Bonnie is the right choice for everyone.

After glancing through several different pages she finally finds a reference to Emily within the copy of the journal. As she reads it out loud Stefan realizes where the spell book is. Sighing, she stands up and says lets go, heading to her aunts car after making a quick stop in the garage for some shovels. The two of them quickly make their way to the Giuseppe Salvatore's grave where they dig up his coffin and find it wrapped in paper next to him.

Damon's POV  
Shortly after leaving the house they reach the Grill, Jeremy heads back to the gaming tables while he takes a seat at the bar, when a small wavy black haired girl comes in and greets Jeremy he is startled to know who she is. For a moment his mind is thrown into the past, a different time before he was a vampire when the hunts were going on. The girl that Jeremy is talking to is the daughter of one of the vampires within the tomb, perhaps that is why she is trying so hard to get it open. She too is a vampire.

After a little bit she excuses herself to go to the bathroom, using super speed he catches her by the throat in the hall just as she grabs his as well.

"Okay, I give," he hoarsely comments, letting go at the same time as she does, he coughs for a moment before saying, "Damn, strong for a little thing."

She is breathing heavy and watching him through the curtain of her hair, "I was wondering how long it would take you to find me," she tells him rapidly in a breathy voice.

Without considering telling Jeremy what's going on the two of them fast travel to her hotel room. When they get there he inquires, "How long have you been here?"

"I arrived around half past comet, watching you screw up every chance you had to open that tomb." She answers sarcastically as she perches on her bed.

He just shakes his head once, "how did you know about the spell?"

Smiling, she replies, "I didn't say much back then, which means I heard everything."

Walking up to her he looks down at her upturned face, asking, "if you have been here the whole time then why are we just crossing paths right now?"

She stands and looks up at him, "I like to use others to do my dirty work," then walks past him.

He turns to keep her in his line of sight.

"Like Logan Fell?" he inquires, catching on, "oh yeah, thanks for that by the way, the little bastard shot me."

She giggles at that a little, a smile playing across her lips, "Logan was an idiot."

He smiles back, "ummmhmmm."

Shaking her head she says, "I slipped him some blood when he started getting all poser-slayer with that compass. I needed his family's journal, I couldn't let him die."

Damon blinks at her, and then asks, "What did you want with the Fell journal?"

"I thought it contained the location of the witch's spell book." She replies, shaking her head at the beginning of the statement and nodding her head at the end of it. "I was wrong. According to her journal, she gave it to Jonathan Gilbert, and according to this," she tells him picking up the Gilbert journal, "he gave it to your father. So now you are going to help me find it."

He looks at her with all seriousness as she is talking. Or a moment when she finishes he says nothing, finally he curiously queries, "why would I help you?"

"'Cause you and I both want that tomb opened," she tells him before opening the journal and showing it to him.

He looks over the entry, nods once, and binds the journal back up. Smiling, he looks at her and says, "sorry, I work alone," then walks out of the door.

Now that he knows where the spell book is he can go and fetch it. Part of him wonders again if he is doing the right thing, while years of habit tell him that it is the only choice he has. As he fast travels to the grave he is not surprised to see Stefan and Elena digging up the grave, she had warned him that she was trying to find it for Bonnie and that Stefan was trying to find it to keep it away from him. For a few minutes he stands there watching from the shadows as Stefan finishes digging the grave up and opens the coffin to revel the spell book.

Sarcastically, as if this was not exactly what he was expecting, he calls out to them, "well what do ya know." Elena turns to face him, the anger is clear on his face, though it is not directed at her because she was honest with him, but at his brother instead, "this is an interesting turn of events."

Stefan steps between Elena and him as if that will be all the protection she needs, he almost wants to laugh if not for the fact he is so sick of always being stabbed in the back by the supposed good brother.

"I can't let you bring her back," Stefan tells him haughtily, insincerely, he adds "I'm sorry."

"So am I," he replies, his mind already trying to come up with a plan to get that spell book. Stefan turns his head to the side, shocked by that response, when he continues, "for thinking for even a second that I could trust you."

Stefan snorts self-righteously, "You're not capable of trust," he says in his holier-than-you attitude. "The fact that you are here means that you read the journal and were planning on doing this yourself."

Spreading his arms to the sides a little he snaps, "A'course I was going to do it by myself because the only one I can count on is me," his voice is full of venom, "you made sure of that many years ago Stefan. But you," he turns his gaze towards Elena, for a moment he debates about what to say but realizes that she has not told Stefan her reasoning yet either, "you had me fooled." While his expression towards his brother is one of anger and sadness, towards her it is shock, "so what are you going to do now?" he demands.

He waits for a moment for an answer, when one is not forth coming he tells his brother, "Because if you try to destroy that, I'll rip her heart out."

Stefan loses the cocky expression, "you won't kill her," he tells him with a shake of his head.

Damon raises his eyes at that direct challenge and speed runs directly behind her. Grabbing her around the throat he snarls at Stefan, "I can do one better," using his fangs to rip his wrist open, he feeds her some of his blood, holding her in place even as she struggles, "give me the book Stefan, or I am snapping her neck and you and I will have a vampire girlfriend."

He stops feeding her his blood, "the book." He commands his brother, still holding Elena by the throat. Stefan's expression is one of complete and utter terror.

Almost in tears, Stefan replies, "I am not going to give this to you until she is standing next to me."

Loosening his grip just the slightest so she can breathe, he snarls, "The problem is I no longer trust that you'll give it back."

"You just did the one thing that insures that I will." Stefan replies. He motions to the ground between them and Stefan nods once saying, "'kay," softly as he sets it on the ground. Damon's eyes do not leave him during this, but afterwards he kisses the top of Elena's head gently as he lets her go.

Elena's POV  
She can feel his lips against her hair as he lets go over her. Stefan is holding his hand out for her to come to him, while Damon is watching to make sure she does not fall, she can feel the sadness radiating from him. Stumbling, she decides to grab hold of a tree instead of either brother. She is staying out of this as much as she can because that's what the clarity is screaming at her to do.

When Damon had first reveled himself, the clarity had told her to back away. Let them deal with it as they needed, but she had not listened. Now as her head begins to throb even worse, she refuses to take a side. In truth she wishes to speak to Damon, but knows that not happening with Stefan standing there.

"Elena," Stefan says stepping towards her, shaking her head she holds a hand out in a motion for him to stop.

"Go away Stefan, I'll be alright," she tells him her entire body shaking.

Stefan looks like he is going to argue but decides against it, "I'll not be far," he promises.

She sighs, shaking her head, "leave Stefan, I'll be fine." She knows that even if she goes down, Damon will help her back up despite the fact he is pissed, she just doesn't know how she knows that.

Finally, he leaves but she can tell he does not want to. Meanwhile Damon is staring at her like some type of exotic creature. He is still pissed and depressed by his brother's actions, but is finding amusement that she is still standing there without his brother.

"Damon, please, just please give the book to Bonnie." She begs him while still leaning against the tree because of the pain blaring behind her eyes. Despite the pain however, she is extremely clear headed due to the clarity spell coursing through her. "I know you love Katherine or feel affection for her, but did she really love you? From everything both of you have said she was selfish, spoiled, and self-absorbed. Hell, she tried to ruin your relationship with your brother by playing you against each other, not that it didn't get ruined anyways but that's not the point!" the pain has increased so she is almost panting as she tells him this.

With nothing else to say, she pushes away from the tree and goes to take a step only to find that her legs gave out on her without the support of the tree, before she has a chance to hit the ground she is firmly in Damon's grasp and he is staring down at her like she has lost her mind.


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV  
"You're determined aren't you?" he asks softly as he kneels down next to the book and picks it up with his hand while resting her against his knee. "Here hold this," he tells her as he places the book on her legs and stands up.

When she doesn't answer he looks down at her face to see that she is unconscious. He sighs and starts back towards town. He has a lot to think about so he does not bother to use his fast movement. Maybe she is right. Maybe it wasn't all that real. What, with that vampire the other day and all that. Perhaps I am looking at this wrong, he thinks, why am I trying to help someone who I am sure would not try to help me. Hell, it was her desire to keep playing around that got her in this situation to begin with. Sooner than he expects he comes to the conclusion that he needs to stop trying to find Katherine, a totally different life is available to him if he just tries, his 'cousins' had been saying that for years, he just hadn't listen.

Once the problem is solved to his preference he fast travels the rest of the way to Bonnie's grandmother's house. Carefully sitting Elena down on the porch, he wakes her up. She blinks up at him and smiles when she realizes where they were. He just gives a rueful shake of his head and knocks on the door as she sits up and leans against the railing.

Bonnie's grandmother opens the door. Shock and annoyance seem to be the primary emotions on her face. "What do you want?" she demands, he can't help but chuckles because it reminds him of Bonnie.

He holds the spell book out to her, "Here, this was Emily's so it should be yours."

That answer seems to startle her and she looks down, her grasp seems particularly flimsy as she takes the book from him. Once she has the book firmly in her grasp she looks up but he is already gone.

Back at Elena's house he stops when they get to the porch, "wake up, sleepy." He gently says as he lowers her feet towards the ground. She is almost touching when her eyes flicker open again. "Here you go, safe and sound back at your house, if I am not mistaken, Stefan will be pulling into the drive way here shortly with your car. Bonnie's grandmother has the spell book," he tells her, his voice soft.

No sooner has Elena's car pulled into the driveway and he is gone.

Elena's POV  
For someone who is pissed at me, he sure seems to be taking good care of me, she thinks as she wakes up for the second time. Now she is standing on her porch, the throbbing in her head not as bad but still frustrating. She had been comfortable in his arms and that was something to reflect on later. Way later, like when Stefan is not rushing up to her and asking if she is okay later.

Now that she is feeling better, she nods answering, "I'm fine, I just have a really bad headache. Let's go see if I have some aspirin in my medicine cabinet."

He nods once, concern still clearly on his face and stays right behind her as they enter the house and go upstairs to her bedroom. As she searches through her bathroom, she does not find any aspirin anywhere. While she searches, Stefan leans against the wall looking more pensive than normal.

"Uhhh, aspirin must be down stairs, is my head supposed to hurt like this?" she asks, the headache is still bad though not as bad as it was earlier.

Stefan quickly glances at her before returning to his thoughtful position. "You'll be fine, it was just a small amount of blood, it should pass through your system by tomorrow."

She walks over to him, and he reaches his hand out to rub her arm comfortingly. Titling her head a little, she looks up at his face inquiring, "are you okay?"

He looks at her briefly before going back to looking at the floor, after a moment he replies sighing, "Damon was right, this is," he pauses shaking his head once, "this is my fault." She can tell that he is lost in the memories of the past. After a several minutes have passed he tells her, "I put my faith in my father, but Damon put his faith in me, and I destroyed that." Again he pauses, sighing, "this is my fault."

She says nothing as she listens, she only nods and touches his check softly. Sighing, she steps away when he looks like he is going to kiss her. He nods once and says, 'I'm going to get you that aspirin." He leaves the room and she can hear him on the stairs.

Groaning, because of her headache she sprawls on her bed, drifting in and out of sleep. The next thing she knows she's waking up in a hotel bed, a man is sitting in a chair, looking like he is unconscious. Trying to be as silent as possible, she moves towards the door, but when she gets there she notices that it has a chain lock on it. While trying to open it, he appears right behind her and she realizes that he is a vampire.

He tries to compel her, not seeming to notice that she has a vervain necklace on. As soon as he turns his back she attempts to escape but is caught by a girl walking in the door. Who tells the vampire off. The female vampire pushes her through a door and slams it behind her. For a moment she tries to find a way out until she spots Bonnie lying in the bath tub unconscious.

Damon's POV  
Stefan really is an annoying brother, he thinks as Stefan comes striding up to him in the library as he reads a randomly selected book. Part of him is happy that he has given up the spell book, the other part of him is upset. Though the upset is such a minor amount that he barely seems to notice it. He hasn't responded to any of the calls from his brother because he fully expects to get a call from Ana and will deal with her himself.

For a few minutes he allows Stefan to keep running his mouth. Eventually, he tells him, "Listen, I fully expect to get a phone call since she thinks I have the spell book so I am not going to go rushing out there. I am going to wait."

This seems to startle Stefan into staying silent because he doesn't make any more comments.

"Besides, I am getting ready to call someone who can find her if Ana proves me wrong." He tells him, as he closes the book and puts it back on the shelf it came from.

He can hear Stefan as he leaves, and shakes his head. Oh well I guess I will have to move onto plan be after all, he thinks to himself. While he is pissed at Stefan and is enjoying seeing him in pain, he is not all that mad at Elena and wants her to be alright. Sighing, he grabs his phone and flips it open, by heart he dials a number he has not called in eighteen years.

"Hello?" a soft, southern female voice answers.

He smiles to himself as he replies, "hello cousin, I'm in a situation."

"Damon!" the voice exclaims, "Victoria warned me you would be calling. I am to tell you that she is currently fine, but go fetch the girls. Also she will be there by night fall."

His smile becomes a chuckle at that. "Alright, thank you cousin," he responds hanging up the phone.

Elena's POV  
Scared that something is wrong with her friend, she quickly grabs a wash towel and wets it. When she starts wiping Bonnie's forehead, Bonnie wakes up. "Bonnie?" she whispers a little scared, "are you okay?"

"Elena!" she exclaims before going on to moan, "my head." For a moment she says nothing, then she jerks upright saying, "oh my god, Ben is a…"

She does not get to finish the sentence because Elena silences her. Tapping on her ear, Elena whispers, "they can hear." Then she stands up and turns the water on.

"So stupid," Bonnie groans.

She pushes a strand of Bonnie's hair off of her face, "no, he had all of us fooled."

Quickly, Bonnie asks, "What's going on? Why are we here?"

Elena whispers to her, "it must have something to do with the tomb and Emily's spell book."

"Spell book?" Bonnie inquires confused.

She nods, "Damon said that it could be used to open the tomb."

"Why didn't I know about any of this?"She seems hurt that it is something she should know and does not.

Sighing, Elena replies, "I was trying to keep you out of it hoping it would never come to this."

"Come to what?"

"They need a witch to break the spell and let the vampires out." She sits back against the wall, her head is still throbbing but the clarity within her makes her realize it is best if the vampires do not know what happened to the spell book.

"No way!" she softly exclaims.

Moments later, the Ben throws the door open and turns the water off. Making a nasty remark to Bonnie he puts his hand over Elena's mouth and drags her out of the room, telling her that Ana wants to speak with her. Ana comments on her how much alike Katherine she looks and how it must be affecting the Salvatore brothers. After a while, the conversation changes to why Ana wants the tomb opened. Shortly after that, Ana uses Elena's phone to call Stefan and tell him what she wants.

Shortly after Ana leaves the door, Ben makes a threaten remark towards her when she asks for something to drink and Bonnie uses the water to light his arm on fire. As the two girls try to escape he catches Elena by the throat and makes Bonnie come back in and lock the door.

A few minutes later the door comes flying open as Damon kicks it down. He smiles at Elena before turning his attention to Ben. Stalking over to him, he snaps the younger vampire's neck and tosses him out the door into the sunlight to die.

"Well?" he asks with a smirk, "what are you waiting for?"

Bonnie glances at Elena in shock, but Elena just shakes her head with a small smile. As the trio is walking out the door, Stefan shows up. He is surprised to see that Damon is there.

The four of them walk to Bonnie's grandmother's house, where Bonnie is happily reunited with her grandmother. Her grandmother stares at Damon in shock, this is the second time in two days he has done something to help a member of her family.

As the three of them leave, Shelia calls out to Damon, "why?"

He stops walking for a moment to look her way, "someone convinced me life sometimes needs to change."

The rest of the walk is done in silence, with Elena in the middle, Stefan to her right, and Damon to her left. They have just reached the boardinghouse when two unfamiliar cars come roaring down the drive way.


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Thanks again to Linn for being a diligent reviewer/emailer, I love the feed back, _

Damon's POV  
The last time I saw the girls they were respective six and eight, and now here they are tearing up the drive way with their cars, he thinks to himself as he chuckles. He knows he should have expected they would come even if he didn't call. Victoria has a habit of always knowing what's going on and this would have been no different. As the two stop their cars side by side, he glances over to his brother to watch his reaction. After all, Stefan knows nothing of the Septies.

Elena's POV  
The almost identical cars come racing in faster than is really safe up the driveway. Just as the two cars get to the end the second one falls back a hair as the first does a tight spin and stops. Seconds later the second is stopped right next to it. They are just feet away from where the three of them are standing.

Glancing between Stefan and Damon, she realizes that Damon knows who is driving the cars while Stefan seems to be in as much shock as her.

Almost as if timed, the driver doors for both cars are thrown up and a young woman gets out of each car. The car to the left is black with a flame design that appears to be moving when the car is in motion, while the car to the right is white with a water design that also appears to be moving when the car is in motion. The girls getting out of the cars barely look old enough to drive, let alone drive a car like the ones they have, but when they turn to face us, push shut their doors and step up in one motion, all she can think is wow.

The from the flaming car makes Elena do a double take, she is tall and willowy, with wavy black hair almost to her ass and electric blue eyes. Truthfully, she looks like a female version of Damon. Particularly in her all black outfit and the smirk on her face. The one from the watery car is similar yet strikingly different with brown eyes and chocolate colored hair, she's dressed in all white.

"Hello cousin," they say in tangent a smile on their lips.

Damon chuckles and steps forward to hug them each, "Victoria, Necessity," he says as he hugs each in turn. Its startling to see him looking so relaxed with another person.

"Ummmm," she starts, "not to be rude, but what's going on? Who are they Damon?"

The two girls chuckle, while the dark haired one wags her finger at him. "Introductions, cousin, are due," she informs him.

Damon turns and rubs the back of his neck, "Elena, I would like you to meet my nieces Victoria and Necessity." He tells her their names as he motions to each girl.

Victoria is the blue eyed girl who looks like him. She smiles and offers her hand, "Victoria Havoc Septies at your service Elena, I believe we will get along just fine."

Necessity is the brown eyed girl, who while similar is different enough as well. She inclines her head but does not offer her hand, "Necessity Chaos Septies, a pleasure to meet you Elena."

Both girls are pointedly ignoring Stefan, which has her wondering why.

"Shall we take this inside?" Victoria inquires looking between Damon, Elena, and Necessity.

Damon nods and motions to the house, confused Stefan follows the other four as they enter the house. Upon entering the boarding house Victoria crashes onto a chair, while Necessity prowls around looking at things. It is actually Victoria who is the first one to speak.

"Well, Elena, in answer to the question that is racing through your head but you haven't gotten around to asking yet, the reason I look so much like Damon over here is because we are his six greats niece, well technically, we are both of their nieces. His father was a bit of a whore." She pauses for a moment, a smirk curling her lips. "As for why he doesn't know about us, well we didn't want him to, particularly since when great-great-great-grandmother approached him he killed her spouse on their wedding night, after that we discounted his existence however because he is related he was not hunted and killed." She says it all so matter of fact that it startles Elena.

For a moment nobody says anything, then Stefan finally asks, "Why would I do that, I don't drink human blood?"

Victoria rolls her eyes and Elena wonders if that's just a Salvatore trait if they are related. "Simple, you were at the time, however now is not the time to be covering that situation. We're here because a decision was made that was long overdue that resulted in a phone call." She pauses for a moment then looks at Damon, "answer your phone."

Elena looks at her funny, Damon's phone isn't ringing. Almost as soon as that thought crosses her mind, the phone begins to buzz. Damon just chuckles and answers the phone speaking with whoever is on the other line. When he is done he hangs up, and glances at Stefan and her shrugging.

With a flash of clarity, Elena realizes the girl sitting on the couch is a witch. Possibly one who can see the future if what has happened so far is anything to go with. The comment about Stefan has also unlocked another mystery, that of why Damon finds Stefan's drinking habits ironic, apparently the both drank human blood at one point but Stefan stopped and Damon did not. The third thing that comes to her mind is the decision made must be about Katherine. Elena had realized when he gave Shelia the spell book that he was not planning on trying to get Katherine back anymore, but he had not yet said so out loud.

The combination of her realizations and the last twenty four hours worth of events startles her to the point where she stumbles, both Damon and Stefan reach for her, but it is Damon who gets to her first and helps her to one of the chairs.

When she had asked him to give up spell book she hadn't actually though he would and he did, but why. That really was the big question, and not the one that she was ready for an answer to. Startled she glances at Victoria who smirks at her. Eventually she recalls that he had just been on the phone with someone and had agreed to still be there.

"Still be where?" she asks him, slightly confused.

He sighs and sits on the arm of the chair, "well, before I showed up and fried the baby vampire, I had stopped to have a quick chat with Ana. We had agreed to meet at the tomb tonight to open it, I was going to bring the spell book, and she would bring you and Bonnie. However she said something I did not like so I decided to change plans and get you two from her idiot crony," he pauses for a moment shrugging. "As you know, I do not have the spell book, but if I had to, I was going to approach Shelia about it. However that was only a last resort if that one," he say pointing at Victoria, "could not get here in time."

Stefan shakes his head and demands, "what do you mean you do not have the spell book? What was that from last night if not for you to get your hands on it?"

"Oh shut up," Victoria snaps at him from her spot on the couch. "Last night was a defining point, one of several to occur in the next few months, it had to happen or things would have turned out differently."

It's actually Elena who answers him, "when he was bring me home, he stopped by Shelia and Bonnie's in order to drop the spell book off. I was there Stefan, Shelia has it now." Originally she had not planned on adding the part about being there but decided it was a good idea because otherwise she knew he would try to argue that no one had seen him hand over the book so how did they know for sure he had.

"It's permanent, by the way." Victoria says in a conversational manner, with a small wave of her hand. "Due to his blood so close to when the spell was cast the effects are permanent, he's an ass for doing it, but there will be a lot of benefits later down the road because of it."

It takes her a moment to figure out what Victoria is talking about, when she does figure it out, she is happy to be sitting down or she might have stumbled again from the shock.

"I would suggest calling the witch," Necessity comments as she returns to the room. "She will be interested in the spell that we are going to use tonight I am sure."

Elena had actually forgotten about the other girl for a few minutes because she had been out of sight. She nods and takes the suggestion however because she is sure that it has merit to it. Something about these two makes the hair on the back if her neck stand up like she needs to pay attention. For a few moments she talks with Bonnie, giving her a really quick rundown on what has happened in the short period since they had parted ways, Bonnie agrees to meet them there, and says that her Grams will be there as well.

The next several hours pass in a blur, somehow Elena got her hands on a blank journal and is writing away at it. Her thoughts are perfectly orderly, but coming so fast that it is hard for her to keep up. Within the last forty-eight hours lots of things had happened. In order to keep it straight she decides to write out a list.

* _First had been the effects of the initial clarity spell from a week ago finally taking root when she had ended things with Stefan_  
_* After that she had to include Stefan having Bonnie recast the clarity spell so that her mind was back into being understanding motives and connecting the dots without having emotions getting in the way_  
_* Next had been the breakfast with Damon which was odd all on its own_  
_* Then there had been when she was searching through the boxes for the journal_  
_*Fifth on the list had been Stefan leaving to speak with Alaric about the journal and Damon showing up for family night_  
_* The conversation with Damon while preparing dinner had to be on the list as well because that seemed to be yet another important point since she had told him honestly not to trust Stefan and what her motivation was_  
_* Stefan showing up with a photo copy of the journal and them discovering where the spell book was, was also an important event_  
_* Everything that happened at the grave can be lumped into one event from the digging the grave up, to the finding the spell book, to Damon force feeding her his blood, to Stefan handing over the book, to her conversation with Damon, to Damon catching her when she passed out_  
_* Dropping the spell book of with Bonnie's grandma had to be a highlighted item on the list because it was probably one of the most drastic_  
_* Getting left at the house with Stefan and then being kidnapped by Ana also made the list_  
_* The fact that it was Damon who came to their rescue had to be highlighted as well, though to give Stefan credit he did show up s well_

Everything that had happened with him showed that he was changing, and apparently for the better. She only hoped that those changes would be permanent. Maybe if she was honest with him, if they stayed friends he would have more reason to keep the changes. The biggest thing that list showed her was that his desire to get Katherine back was just about totally gone.

Shortly before dark, Damon comes strolling out of the kitchen, and into the living room where she is sitting and writing. "Dinners done," he mentions, as if it is not unusual for him to cook. "Come eat while it's hot," he continues smiling.

She smiles and closes the journal, glancing around the room, she realizes that the other two girls are nowhere in sight. "Thanks Damon," she tells him as she walks with him into the dining room. She is startled to see that places are set for a all five of them, even more startled to see that there is steak, and chicken, an assortment of vegetables, a fruit salad, and variety of potato choices all laid out. When she looks over at him to comment on the variety he's rubbing the back of his neck with his smirk firmly in place but the expression in his eyes is more like worry or questioning whether he did the right thing or not.

"I wasn't sure what everyone wanted, so I made a little of everything," he tells her in way of explanation as he politely pulls out a chair for her.

This small action reminds her that he was raised a gentleman even if he is a bit rough around the edges. She smiles at him, murmuring, "thank you, really, thank you."

Before he says anything Stefan and the girls come in, they are chatting away in rapid fire, almost not understandable English while Stefan is trying to get one of their attentions and they ignore him. At the table, they take seats across from each other on an angle. Victoria is next to Elena, while Necessity is across from Elena, Damon is at one end of the six-seated table, while Stefan is at the other with only Victoria to the side. Both girls brightly thank him for the meal, while Stefan only mumbles.

Elena can tell that Stefan has been thrown off-course, he is normally broody, but the way these two are ignoring him, makes him depressed to go with it. In order to try and keep things light she talks to everybody at the table, though its odd making small chat with someone who seems to know what you are going to say before you say it. By the end of dinner, she is shocked at how relaxed Damon seems to be, particularly since she knows that he is still pissed at Stefan for lying to him.

After dinner the girls flash smiles at each other and then at both uncles, "Well let's go cause some havoc," Victoria comments, standing up and stretching.

"Havoc?" she repeats, "why havoc?"

Victoria grins, replying, "it's my middle name, it's also my title among the witchy side of our family because I use magic that's from the forces of chaos and most of the time when I cast there is the lovely side effect of the unexpected, though rarely in a bad way. We decide to duel cast that way the spell should be absolute unless another chaos caster joins the fry, not that there are many of those out there. Witches like your friend and her grandmother rely on nature and her elements to cast, along with emotion."

Stefan shakes his head at this and Damon smirks at her like she's being a smart ass. It really is amusing to watch.

"Oh, by the way, that journal I gave you is spelled for privacy and space. Only you can read it unless you willingly allow someone else to, and it will keep enlarging for more space to write without getting heavier. It took several months to figure out how to combine the two spells but I was happy with the results, and sure that I'd need an extra when I got here." This time it is Necessity who is speaking.

The five of them clean up the dining room and head out, the girls ask to walk rather than drive because they want to look around in person. Upon reaching the tomb, it is full dark outside, Bonnie and Shelia are standing there waiting, their vehicle not to far away.


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV  
He was getting great amusement out of his brother as he tried to get the girls to talk to him. It really was funny to see Stefan having to go through what was normally his problem. It almost makes up for the fact that once again Stefan decided to lie to him, almost but not quite. To him, it was rather frustrating that he kept getting betrayed by his brother time and time again, but then his brother had been telling the truth when he said that he hated him. Sighing he runs a hand through his hair, when he is done Victoria is smiling at him with mischief in her eyes.

The trip to the old tomb is quiet, as if no one wants to speak. He is sure that the girls didn't walk for the scenery but doesn't say anything because that would ruin their fun. As they pass the party at the old church he has to shake his head. That must be the fresh meat that Ana had mentioned. Necessity pauses for a moment, her hands moving in time with words mumbled even too low for his vampire hearing to pick up on. The next thing he knows a light glow surrounds each of the kids for a moment in time before vanishing.

When the five reach the spot Bonnie and Shelia are already standing there, Victoria flashes a grin at them, then drops down the hole into the area before the tomb, Elena eyes it warily, and Necessity jumps landing on her feet according to the light thump she makes.

"Well are you coming?" he hears from below.

A moment later a rope ladder appears and anchors itself to the top of the hole, gingerly, Elena puts one foot on it, testing its strength, when it holds she climbs down followed by Bonnie and Shelia.

Before he can jump down and join the ladies, Stefan grabs his arm, "what's going on here Damon?" he demands, the frustration from the day very noticeable. "How come you never said anything about us having other relatives out there?"

He shook Stefan's hand off his arm, "listen, they didn't want you to know, so I didn't say anything. As far as what's going on, they are opening the tomb, though I guarantee that Katherine will not be coming out since the girls dislike her."

Before Stefan can say or do anything else, he drops down into the entrance of the tomb. Glancing around, he sees that the girls have set up using seven not lit torches. They are using a flash light to see by as they do so. Finally, as the moon rises up above the turn the flash lights off, both taking point on opposite ends facing towards each other on the outside of the ring of torches. The tomb is to Victoria's left, Necessity's right, in the middle between them.

With a small shake of his head, he steps back against the wall next to Elena, while Bonnie and Shelia stand on the other side of her.

The girl's voices are soft as they chant but full of power, they counter balance it seems for Victoria's is low and rich, while Necessity's is high and pure.

"Āga, bahana, prēmī, dōsta. Maiṁ āpa kō iśārē sē bulā ā'ō.  
Jala, bhā'ī, pitā, putra. Maiṁ āpa kō iśārē sē bulā ā'ō.  
Pavana, bēṭī, baccē, buṛhīyā. Maiṁ āpa kō iśārē sē bulā ā'ō.  
Pr̥thvī, mām̐ , gā'iḍa, pōṣaṇa karatē haiṁ. Maiṁ āpa kō iśārē sē bulā ā'ō.  
Pahalē kā samaya. Parē samaya. Pūrvaja, maiṁ āpakē upahāra māṅgī jā pūchanā.  
Isa dīvāra cūka. Isa śakti kō tōṛanē. Kēvala tumakō icchā'ōṁ jisē una lōgōṁ kē li'ē khulā."

With every line they rotate from the first unlit torch to the second going in a counterclockwise around the ring until they finish back where they begun. Pausing for a brief breath they pass past the torches and into the ring itself, reaching out with their hands, their fingers barely touch as they continue to chant.

"Śōdha aura māṅga kī. Upahāra maiṁ dē.  
Lāyaka haiṁ kē li'ē aba khōlēṁ."

They have barely finished the last word when an explosion of color pours from the torch between their hands. Bolts of fire, lightning, ice, and stone shoot out to light and 'x' shape. While mixed bolts of fire and lightning hit the one Victoria started by and ice and stone hits the one Necessity started by. For a moment time seems to stand still before the stone wall in front of the tomb slowly dissolves and the portal behind it glimmers with energy. The torch between them glows with the touch of all four elements.

Almost as soon as the portal glimmers, Ana drops down and rushes in. Victoria and Necessity smile at each other, waiting. Shelia stares between them, according to the expression on her face she had never seen anything like what they had done. As the torches begin to fade the girls share another smile, this one is not nice however, it is the smile of a predator on the hunt. Finally after what seems far longer than it truly is, Ana comes to the portal with her mother's bloodless body. For an instant she glances at the wall with narrow eyes before tentatively stepping through it and with her, comes her mother. It flares to life for an instance before it fades and the rest of the torches go out. The moment the torches go out, the wall of the tomb re-solidifies.

A shared look between the sisters completes an entire conversation as Victoria uses a small pocket knife to slash her wrist. "I offer freely but know I will stop you if you try to be foolish," she informs Pearl and Ana holding her wrist out.

Shelia acts as if she is going to try and interfere but Necessity puts a restraining hand on her arm and shakes her head.

Ana accepts for her mother and brings Victoria's wrist to her mouth. Within a moments time Pearl's teeth sink into his niece's delicate wrist and Pearl's color returns. Only a heartbeat or two later, power flares up around Victoria, causing Pearl to let go and step back.

"She looks like Katherine," Pearl murmurs as she spots Elena as the blood gives her back her strength with far less needed than a normal witch or human's blood would provide.

He frowns at that, and looks at Ana asking, "she isn't in there?"

Ana shakes her head, still helping her mother who is slowly standing on her own. "No, she promised to turn a guard if he let her out. Last I saw her was in Chicago 1983." Damon gives a shake of his head, this information will have to be carefully considered but it confirms what he had already decided. The finishing blow to anything he might have felt for her comes in the next instance when Ana tells him, "she knew where you where, Damon, she didn't care."

At his side he can feel Elena's hand on his shoulder, a comforting touch reminding him why he changed paths. A glance at the girls shows that they had already known, but had not said because they did not want to interfere. Ana and Pearl make their way out of the tomb, by passing Stefan and Jeremy who is standing just outside of the hole rubbing his head.

"I'm sorry," he hears Ana whisper as she passed Jeremy.

After they are gone, Victoria turns towards them, suggesting, "we should go to the boardinghouse, there is a discussion that needs to take place and I would rather not do it here." Everyone nods, though Shelia cannot help but look back at the tomb door one more time before she climbs the ladder to the outside.

_The spell is in Hindi as one of the older languages in the world, and to differentiate it from the standard Latin concept, the girls don't cast magic like most witches, so why would the language they use be similar? The spell is as follows:_

_Fire, sister, lover, friend. Come I beckon you.  
__Water, brother, father, son. Come I beckon you.  
__Wind, daughter, child, crone. Come I beckon you.  
__Earth, mother, nurture, guide. Come I beckon you.  
__Time before. Time beyond. Ancestor, I ask your gift be sought.  
__Lapse this wall. Break this power. Open only to those whom thee desires._

_Seek and sought. Gift I give.  
__Open now for those who deserve. _

_Anyways reviews are appreciated! What's everyone think so far? From here on out there will be less of the original, and more of the AU. Enjoy!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Elena's POV  
A short while later the group, including Jeremy, is sitting in the boardinghouse living room. Shelia is visibly uncomfortable. Bonnie is looking around at everything from her place on the divan next to her grandmother. Jeremy is sitting by the fireplace rubbing his head. Elena is sitting in the chair across from Jeremy's. Stefan and Damon are standing on either side of the fire place. While Necessity and Victoria are standing directly in front of it.

"We were invited into the situation," Victoria begins, "otherwise we never would have come and tonight would have went far different, ending in sorrow for all the parties involved. As Elena has already guessed, I See the future. It's my gift, my strongest gift anyways." She pauses for a moment, taking a breath. "That tomb was going to be opened no matter what happened, so it is best if it is done as safely as possibly instead of allowing every one of them out, only those whom fate plans to use will be able to escape. The rest will perish by fire should they try."

Shelia glances between the girls and the Salvatore brothers. It doesn't take a telepath to see that she is trying to figure out the resemblance. "Why though, why open it at all?"

Victoria shrugs, "like I said, this could have gone another way. Had it gone that way, you would have shattered the seal and in the morning, when you were dead, all of the vampires would have been released. Instead, only those who are supposed to be released will be freed." She pauses looking at her wrist which is healed already. "It really was the better alternative. By changing two details, all of time has changed in minor ways, but those minor ways will save a great many lives and end two curses that have been around for two-thousand years due to several people playing with forces they could not control or hope to contain. Fate and Nature cannot be forced, only asked nicely, and those who try to force it always lose in the end."

Bonnie pipes up, asking, "what was that? It is nothing like the magic we use."

It is Necessity who answers her, "you are correct, it is not like the magic you use. Yours is based on an older version of Latin, ours is Hindi. You can only work within the elements, emotions, and death magic. We work within the fabric of time itself, but only permission from Her, that allows us access to far greater amounts of energy and spells."

For a time there is silence, before Shelia finally decides to inquire, "what two things have changed?"

Victoria turns her electric blue eyes on her, for a moment the pupil seems to fade until her entire eyes glow from within. She sighs, "that I may not say, there are now four paths that could occur but we have not been invited into them yet because they have not yet been selected. Does that make sense? I can tell you this, the one I hope for is the one where the curses are broken, where balance is returned, and where the maximum amount of people survive. I hate needless death."

"What about you two? You are obviously related to them, but how? Vampires cannot be witches." Shelia asks, looking between the so very similar Victoria and Damon.

Necessity smiles humorously, "somewhat true, most witches cannot become vampires without losing their abilities, there are some though, some that do." She pauses for a moment, smirking, "however, we are not related through either of them directly. We are related through a common ancestor, Giuseppe Salvatore is their father and our grandfather eight generations back. We are their nieces, seven generations later, which I guess makes it six greats nieces. I always found it amusing as all day-lights the similarities between Damon and Victoria, it makes many question if they are siblings."

Bonnie and Shelia nod, then ask if they could get a ride back to their vehicle, Elena agrees but asks Stefan is he can take them with hers, she wants to speak with Jeremy. He agrees and she hugs Bonnie goodnight.

The entire time that the conversation is flowing around her, she is looking at her younger brother lost deep in thought. The clarity that apparently is now a permanent part of her tells her that Damon's choice was the invitation into the situation for the two girls. By allowing them in, it has saved Shelia's life. Yet something about that seems off, Victoria had said that there were now four different paths this could take, twice as many as there started out being, what would cause that? Then it hit her, two different changes, four different variations. Depending on the variable is which path would occur.

She had been planning to tell her brother and aunt about the vampires, witchcraft, and everything else. Since he was sitting right here, calmly so far, she figured now would be a good time. He was not going to like some of what had to be said, she only hoped that he would be able to forgive her sooner than later.

As Stefan, Bonnie, and Shelia leave she turns her attention to Jeremy. "We need to talk," she informs him, looking directly at his face.

He nods, looking at Damon, Victoria, and Necessity before looking back at her. "When I woke up with a headache I figured we did."

Elena moves so she is sitting next to him, perching on the arm of his chair which puts them at eye level with each other since he is taller than her by several inches. Behind her, she can hear Damon move restlessly.

She takes a deep breath to steady herself before beginning. "Tonight you could have been killed and it is my fault because I have not been completely honest with you. Jer, you realize that they were talking about real witchcraft right?" she pauses a moment to give him a chance to nod in understanding, "well, witches are not the only supernatural thing out there, there are also vampires as well."

Jeremy's eyes flicker to Damon, who has shifted to sprawl in the seat that she had previously been in. "Them?" he asks, nodding towards Damon.

She nods, "yes Stefan and Damon are two of them, but they are not the only ones, your friend Ana and her mother is also a vampire." She had hesitated on the word friend, she was not sure if it was the right word to use or not.

He doesn't say anything for a long while, instead he just stares hard at Damon with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally he looks back at Elena, "there is more isn't there? Something you don't want to tell me, but think that I need to know."

She blushes, forgetting how close her and Jeremy are, that means he understands her far easier than her parents had or her aunt does. Nodding, she replies, "I'm not sure how to tell you this, Jeremy. Vicki," she pauses for an instant to figure out what to say, "Vicki is dead, she was turned into a vampire right before Halloween and tried to kill you at the Halloween party, in order to save you, Stefan killed her." She stops to take a deep breath before pushing on, knowing that it would be best if he knew now rather than later. "Then I asked Damon to make you forget, I had no right to do so, but you have to understand, you were in so much pain over our parents, then to add that was driving you mad it seemed." Her hands are splayed to the open to the side palms up.

For a very long moment he says nothing, finally he springs out of his seat and starts pacing around the room venting about how it was not right, not fair, not her choice, how dare she, how dare Damon. After half an hour of this venting, Victoria rolls her eyes and steps directly in his path causing him to stop.

"Listen to me, and listen to me well Jeremy Gilbert, your sister did what she thought was right in order to protect you. Had she not, you would have committed suicide and been damned for all of time to wander the earth, trapped by your emotions. Was her methods the best ones out there? No, but then you name to me one elder sister who always uses the best methods to achieve a desired result." Her voice is soft, but sharp as a knife.

He just stares at her before turning to look at Elena still sitting on the arm of the chair with an expression of great sadness and despair in her eyes. Sighing, he walks over to her and plops down in the chair.

"I'm not happy about it, really, I am not. But I can't be mad at you either, because if our roles were reversed I probably would have done the same thing." He pauses for a breath before continuing on, "however, I want some space Elena, I promise not to say a word to anyone but I need to take some time to mourn for my friend." His voice breaks on the last word and Elena wraps her arms around him, hugging him.

Damon and the sisters step out, giving the siblings a few moments to grieve in private. Eventually, he shakes his head and stands up, breaking the hug. He gives her a weak smile before heading towards the door. Before he can get there however, Necessity steps into his path.

"Can I see you bracelet for a moment please?" she inquires, her rich brown eyes seeming to have an inner glow.

He looks at her funny for a moment, then takes it off, handing it to her. For a few minutes she studies the bracelet carefully. Then glancing over at Victoria, she raises a single eyebrow in a silent question. Victoria nods, and Necessity's eyes grow bright as she mumbles under her breath. Smiling, she hands the bracelet back, "there, protection from harm, better than the ring you will eventually get."

He gives her a funny look, then walks out the door.

Instinctively, Elena knows that she has done the right thing in telling Jeremy, yet it still hurts to see him walking away with such an air of sadness. When she feels a hand on her shoulder she glances over and is almost surprised to see Damon standing there.

"Thank you," he tells her, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

She shakes her head and gives him a confused look. "For what?"

He smiles at her, his blue eyes clearer than she can ever remember seeing them, "for giving me a different option. For not automatically blaming me for Vicki, even though it was my fault, for everything."

Her lips twitch into a small smile of her own, "you're welcome?" she replies. In a flash of understanding, she knows that having someone actually giving him the benefit of a doubt has been rare. She also knows that he has rarely been shown affection which prompts her to turn and give him a hug which he slowly returns.

From the other side of the room, she hears, "well that's one option down, three more to go. Things are looking up."

She smiles against his shirt, enjoying the feeling of his cooler body against hers, it feels right. A few minutes later they had not moved when Stefan comes banging into the room. The look on his face causes Elena to cringe inside and she lets go of Damon, stepping towards Stefan.

"Stefan," she starts, but he uses his fast motion ability to vanish up the stairs.

Victoria walks over to her and pats her on her shoulder, "don't worry about him, in less than a year he will be doing far better, it's just a matter of time and perspective. Right now he is just a bit jealous but it is not going to affect things too badly at this point. No guarantee that something will not change that, because that's the way fate is." She looks at Damon and flashes a smile, "well cousin, it's been great seeing you, I am sure I will see you again sooner than later, behave yourself. As you know, if you ever need us, give us a call." She closes the space between them, hugging him. Victoria says something to him so softly that Elena cannot hear her, but that's okay with her.

As Victoria walks over to the door, Necessity comes over to Damon and Elena. She flashes a grin at Elena and offers her hand to shake. Upon letting go of her fingers Necessity informs her, "don't fret over who your biological parents are, instead embrace the memory of those who loved you in their place." She then hugs Damon and whispers something to him.

With nothing else said, the two head out the door, climb in their cars, and take off, racing down the road.

For a few minutes the two of them just stand there staring at the door the two just left through. Finally, Damon turns and looks at her inquiring, "are you hungry? I know it's pretty late but you have had a really eventful day."

She smiles at him, nodding, "I could use something to eat."

He smirks at her, "do you eat pancakes?"

"Yep," she answers and he heads into the kitchen, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Shaking her head, she wanders into the dining room and spots her journal lying on the table. With a small smile, she sits down and begins to write, clearing her head of everything that she has had to deal with since the last entry several hours earlier. At one point she pauses, chewing on the back of her pen as she thinks about the conflicting emotions she is feeling towards Damon. Part of her is worried that he is going to go back to being a complete and utter ass, while the bigger part of her liked what it felt like to be in his arms. At this point she wasn't sure if she was attracted to him or not, even with the clarity spell things seemed to be far too confusing in that department, the one thing she does know is she doesn't want to lose him.

Her musings are interrupted by Damon bringing in a platter of pancakes several minutes later on a tray with dishes, silverware, syrup, and fruit toppings.

_Thank you SwanQueen4055, zikae218, and 9linn8 for your reviews. To everyone else, whatcha think so far? Reviews are always appreciated!_


	14. Chapter 14: Part 1

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_So Christmas is never really mentioned in the show, however, since I woke up to the first snow of the year on the ground, I decided to do a Christmas chapter since it is in the right area of the time line, please review people and tell me whatcha think. _

Elena's POV  
Thanksgiving had passed unremarked upon due to the craziness of everything that had happened in November so she was determined that Christmas would not pass the same way. Two week before Christmas she had gone on a massive shopping spree with Caroline and Bonnie to get presents, food, and new decorations for the Christmas get together that Jenna had agreed to let her hold. For hours the trio had worked towards filling the trunks of their vehicles only to go back to her house and decorate like crazy.

Jenna and Jeremy had thought it amusing the amount of enthusiasm that she was showing towards getting everything ready. The house now had a tree with lots of presents underneath, garland, lights, figurines, and whatever other little decoration had come to mind. Even though the majority of it was new, a few favored items were brought out of storage for her parents as well, which had led to a few minutes of crying for those who were lost.

In the days leading up to Christmas Eve, Jenna and Elena were baking and cooking like crazy, making snacks that could be served without having to reheat. By the time Christmas Eve was there, everything was ready to go.

Morning comes early for Elena as she wakes up and stretches. It's going to be a great day she thinks as she gets ready for her party. This would be the first Christmas without them. However she refused to give into depression. Instead she was hosting a Christmas get together for her close family and close friends including Jenna, Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Damon, Stefan, and Alaric.

She chooses to dress as cheerfully as possible, with comfortable jeans and a Christmas sweater her mom had given her. Before noon she starts to set up the kitchen bar with the food that they had spent the last few days making including cookies, cupcakes, hand-made chocolate treats, fresh punch and pop, a meat and cheese tray with crackers, fruit tray, and vegetable tray with dip. All three of the trays she had insisted on making herself rather than purchasing them premade.

When Jenna comes out of her room she is surprised to see Elena buzzing around the house doing last minute touch-ups to cleaning and decorations. With a smile, Jenna helps her with whatever is left over and places her presents under the tree as well.

Sometime around one pm Jeremy comes wandering out of his room and down into the living room area. Since their discussion at the boardinghouse, they had been able to regain much of the easy friendship that they had once shared. He still had his moments where Stefan and Damon made him edgy but those were getting rarer and rarer as time passed on.

About a week ago, Jenna, Jeremy and Elena had sat down to discuss the fact that she had been adopted. The end results where that it really didn't matter. After all, she was his sister. While all three were curious as to whom her real parents were, it was not something that they were going to stress about either.

"Morning," he mumbles as he reaches for the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.

Downing it, he sets his cup down and reaches for the pot again only to have her grin and refill his cup, "good afternoon sleepy head, sleep well?."

After he finishes the second cup of coffee he looks more awake, "yeah," he pauses for a moment then says her name questioningly.

"Yeah Jer?" she replies as she sits down with her own cup of coffee, busy days require extra energy.

"Can I invite Ana to the get together, I realize you're not happy with her but..." his voice trails off. The plan is to speak to Jenna the day after Christmas about the entire vampire and witches situation that they found themselves in.

Not answering immediately she careful considers everything that she knows about the petite vampire. She had honestly seemed to like her brother despite the threats that she spoken when she was trying to get her mother out of the tomb. Since retrieving her mother, they had stayed off of the radar in town. There had been no new attacks. It actually seemed like they were trying to start a new life and adapting to the new world.

She nodded once, "only her, I am not ready to deal with Pearl yet," she replies giving him a small smile. It's Christmas, the time of forgiveness and fresh starts.

The smile that lit Jeremy's face made the possible headache that having Ana in the same house as the Salvatore brothers will cause. Without saying anything else, he bolts up to his room, probably to call and invite her over.

Jenna watches him go with a smile on her face and a question, "did you give him his gift early or something?"

She shook her head no, replying, "He asked if Ana could come over and I agreed."

Jenna nods and wanders off. After one last check to make sure that everything is ready, she heads up to her room to write in her journal for a little bit before everyone gets there. Just after four-thirty she hears a tapping at her window and turns to see Damon sitting on her window ceil grinning.

"You know, you can use the front door," she tells him with a chuckle as she closes her journal. Since the events at the tomb their relationship had shifted from an understanding to a good friendship, and while she was still friends with Stefan, it wasn't the same. Most of the time she felt awkward with Stefan because he kept trying to convince her that they belonged together, sure he wasn't doing so out right but he was still doing so.

He smirks, hopping off of the window, "where is the fun in that?"

She grins at him, giving him a quick welcoming hug. "Well if you are here that means the others will be here soon as well. So come on," she tells him heading towards her bedroom door.

It's his turn to chuckle as she bounds down the stairs and into the living room where she turns the radio on low with holiday music. When he reaches the bottom of the steps Jenna wags a finger at him, "it's a good thing I like you."

He flashes her one of his oh-so-charming smiles, "thank you Jenna, how are you?"

For a few minutes the two of them chat before Jeremy comes down stairs and spotting Damon challenges him to a rematch on the x-box. Accepting the challenge, the two guys park themselves on the couch and get to playing.

The two women just shake their heads and roll their eyes, eventually Jenna comments, "I thought he was an ass?"

Elena grins at her, replying, "he is, but he is an acquired taste I seem to have gotten."

They chuckle at that and before Jenna can add to it, the front door bell goes off. Elena walks over and answers it, its Bonnie and Caroline both baring bags with stuff in them. She waves them in, and they set their stuff down giving her a hug a piece when they say hello.

Bonnie is the first one to speak, "I figured I would bring my gifts today because we are doing a big family get together tomorrow and I don't think I would be able to get away to give them to you then." She pauses for a moment, looking around then calls out, "hello Jenna, Jeremy, Damon." Since the events in the tomb she has been friendlier towards him, though she still dislikes him.

Caroline plays with her hair for a moment before saying, "well I brought mine over cause I am supposed to go over to my dad's and his boyfriends tomorrow night. I figured better early than late!" Unlike Bonnie who is finally becoming neutral towards Damon, Caroline still hates his guts.

Stefan and Alaric show up next, they knock once on the door before coming in. Stefan says hi to everyone except his brother, and Alaric give Jenna a kiss on the cheek much to the amusement of his students in the mix. The only two left to show is Ana and Matt, and before Ana gets there she wants to warn Damon and Stefan. Unfortunately, that does not work quite that well since the next knock of the door is soft and hesitant, almost immediately Jeremy pauses his game and jumps up to answer the door. Damon stares after him, like startled expression.

Under her breath Elena mutters, "Ana." Knowing that both of the vampire males in the room will hear her, and hear her they do since a moment later both are standing on either side of her watching the door. "Relax, Jeremy invited her," she tells them touching both their arms. Stefan goes back to talking with Bonnie and Caroline, while Damon stays close to her. She just smiles at this protective behavior.

After Jeremy opens the door, Ana cautiously steps in. According to the look on her face she is not sure what type of reception awaits her. In her hand is a small plastic bag. "Hi," she says somewhat shyly, looking around. The tension is thick enough to cut between Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan with the look they are sending towards Ana.

Before she has a chance to get far into the door, Matt's slow drawl can be heard coming up the walk way, "hey, don't forget me!" it is reminiscent of our younger days when they were growing up and would intentionally shut the door on him.

With that the harsh silence is broken. Ana is the only one in the group not to know everyone else, but that is not that big of a problem. Caroline decides that she likes her hair and boom! Instant conversation. Before the conversation gets too far, Ana hands the bag to Jenna, thanking her for allowing her over. In the bag is a bakery bought chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting that gets added to the menu. Sometime around six, every one headed towards the bar and all of the snack like foods on it. Once everyone has a plate and glass of something to drink, the group adjourns to the living room where there is enough seating for everyone-sort of.

Conversation starts back up, smoother now than it had been earlier. As people finish what's on their plates, they either trash them or get more, depending on if they are still hungry or not. Towards the end, when everyone has only something to drink in their hands, Elena stands up and toasts, "Merry Christmas, to new beginnings!"

The entire group toasts back, Jenna, deciding to make it a game of around the room, lifts her cup saying, "To a pleasant evening," which sets off another round of toasting. Each person does their own.

Caroline's is, "to friends, family, and those other people in your life."

Bonnie's is "to new experiences."

Matt is, "to happy endings for a change."

Alaric is, "to pleasant gatherings."

Jeremy pipes up with, "to having a blast."

Ana's tentative toast is, "to better choices."

While Stefan and Damon both say simultaneously, "to Elena."

After the round robin of toasts, Elena gets a present for each person from under the tree including Ana much to her surprise. She lets Jenna pick out her gift to keep it fair. Any extra gifts will be sent home with the girls and Matt. Damon, Stefan, and Alaric have been invited for Christmas dinner since they are bachelors and friends of the family.

Matt's gift is a box of dishes from Jenna, her Christmas card jokingly says that it's so he has a complete set. Caroline's gift is an opal pendant on a fine silver necklace with matching dangling earrings from Elena. Bonnie's gift is a thick black leather journal with a strap and lock and a matching pen. Alaric gets a new jacket from Jenna. Ana's gift is a lovely set of hair combs from Jeremy. Stefan's gift is a book that he had discussed with Elena but did not own from Elena. Damon's gift is a picture Jenna had snapped of Damon and Elena in a nice silver frame from Jenna. Jeremy's gift is a new wrist watch from Jenna. Elena's gift is a delicate bracelet from Jenna.

The rest of the night goes smoothly, sometime after ten pm everyone starts to disburse. Stefan, Alaric, and Damon all promise to show up for dinner the next night before they leave. The girls all have a good hug before heading in their own directions over all it is a complete success.

Damon's POV  
As the sun rises Christmas day, Damon sprawls on his bed staring at the ceiling deep in thought. Unwitting Jenna had given him the best gift he had in years. The picture was from just a few days after the tomb incident, he had stopped by to check on how things were with Jeremy. He had hugged her when she was sad and heard the click of the camera an instance later. When he had turned around Jenna was standing there with a shit-eating grin on her face. It was one of the few times he had initiated the contact between himself and Elena.

He had gotten small gifts for Jeremy, Jenna, Elena, and even Stefan but was not sure if it would be right to give them to them tonight or if he should give them sooner. It felt ever so odd to be invited to a family function of this type. Maybe he would head over to their house early and help with the cooking. He'd take the presents with him, put them under the tree, and hope that he had selected right.

Stefan's POV  
Why did life never seem to go as planned? He thought to himself as he wrapped the last present he had gotten. On impulse he had decided to get gifts for Elena, Jeremy, and Jenna. He had debated about getting something for Damon but had not known what to get him so he had just got him a card instead. It would be the first time in years that they had done anything remotely related to Christmas as a family or even family-ish situation.

When he first met Elena he thought that they would work out great, but things didn't go that way. Instead he messed up and it cost him Elena. Now she was a free agent but he had a feeling that she was going to end up with his brother. Damn it all, but that massively sucked in his book.

Alaric's POV  
Dinner the previous night had been odd to say the least. He sat down to dinner with the vampire who had killed his wife and the woman he was falling in love with. Not to mention three of his students and one who was supposed to be his student but was far older than him. He didn't think it could get much odder but it had, he was invited over for proper Christmas dinner and had agreed to it.

He was not sure how he was going to spend too much more time with Damon without saying anything about Isobel. However, he refused to ruin Christmas for Jenna, Elena, and Jeremy who had been through enough already within the last several months without adding that to the mix. Maybe he would pick up a bottle of wine to take with him, it would not be the best gift ever but it was better than nothing.

Jeremy's POV  
He still couldn't believe how smooth the day before had gone. When Ana first showed up he had expected some sort of explosion or other violent reaction past the distrust and anger shown by Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan. He was half tempted to point out that they all agree on one thing just to watch them squirm since they each had grudges of one type or another against someone in the trio. Sighing he wished he could invite her today but didn't because he did not want the stress that would go with it. Besides, he'd see her soon enough he was sure.

Maybe he should get more sleep before the chaos of opening Christmas presents and all of the other family like stuff got underway. Yeah, that was a good idea.

Jenna's POV  
WOW! The tension in the room when Ana had first stepped in had been so thick she could have cut it with a very dull knife. She wondered for a moment where all that tension was from then decided to just shrug it off for now, after all it was Christmas and she had no idea how to make the big family dinner. What was she thinking inviting Alaric over to dinner when she wasn't even sure she could make it since her skills were in sweets not meal? Hopefully Elena knows what she is doing!

Elena's POV  
Christmas! She though excited as all daylights, again she was up early. This time to get started cooking on a proper Christmas dinner because she was sure that Jenna had no idea what to do. She had just stepped out of the bathroom in her towel when she heard a small gasp from behind her and turned to discover Damon staring at her before he bolted back out the window and to the front door. She just shook her head, throwing some clothing on so she could go open the door for him.

When she got to the door, it was all she could do to keep from laughing at him standing there with his hand frozen halfway between the door and himself as if he was debating on whether to knock or not.

"Well come in," she tells him chuckling, "it's not like you haven't invited yourself in before."

He smirks at her but doesn't say anything, instead he picks a bag up off of the porch and walks over to the tree where he takes the four presents out and puts them under it. For a few minutes he plays around with them until he gets them to where he thinks they are just right. Finally, he stands up and says, "Good morning Elena, having a pleasant one so far?"

She smiles and nods, heading over to the kitchen. "Yep, I was just getting ready to start cooking because I don't think Jenna knows exactly what she is doing."

Jenna hears this from her room and calls out, "nope, I don't get to it! I wasn't the one who was always cooking dinner that was Miranda!"

A brief look of sadness crosses Elena's features but fades quickly. "Well then it's a good thing I took notes," she calls back to her.

"Care for help?" Damon asks as he steps beside her and looks down into her eyes. "I promise I am behaving today. See, I even came through the door." He doesn't mention that he originally went through the window.

"I'd love some help," she replies and the two of them get to work cooking dinner despite the fact it's not even ten in the morning.

_So this got to be a bit longer than planned, I am going to break it up into two different parts, reviews people are really appreciated. _


	15. Chapter 14: Part 2

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Here is part two of the Christmas chapter, reviews are appreciated!_

_Thanks again to SwanQueen4055, Ferrydenpurple, zikae218, and 9linn8 for the encouragement. Enjoy. _

Damon's POV  
They were in the kitchen working on chopping up the vegetables for the stuffing, the smoked honey and pineapple ham was already in the oven baking. The two of them worked companionable silence, easy and comfortable. She had dug out the cards with the recipes on them and they had divided them up between them. They were just about done with the prep work when Jenna came out of her room, rubbing her eyes.

Jenna glances between the two of them and then comments, "so did you spend the night and I just miss it?"

He smiles, replying, "It's been so long since I've been at a holiday dinner I decided to come over early and help."

The last time he can remember celebrating a holiday was before his mother had died when Stefan was still little. After their mother's death, their father seemed to have lost any of the nicest that he once had. Stefan became the favored child, while Damon, who had been close to his mother, was the one to be considered the spare despite the fact that he was older. Once he had changed from human to vampire he had not wanted to celebrate since the woman he thought he loved was gone. Now that he looked back at it he wondered if he loved her, or if his obsession had just been a sires bond that took far too long to break.

Every year his nieces' and their families would invite him, but he never went. He liked the girls, but many of the previous generations had gotten on his nerves. However he had not wanted to be around the girls to often because they had a tendency to bring out the best in him, which was something he really tried to avoid before getting to know Elena.

Elena. Now there was a situation that drove him to distraction. The first time he saw her was earlier the night of the accident but he had wiped her memory of that. He had thought she was Katherine until he heard the heart beat. After talking to her for a few moments he realized that while they were identical in looks, in personality they could not be more different if they tried. So he did what he thought was the right thing and compelled her to forget, that same night her family was in a car accident that nearly destroyed her entire family. He was on his way to help when he noticed his brother was nearby, since he was avoiding Stefan he went no further, sometimes he wondered if that was the right choice.

Months later he was friends with Elena and she kept surprising him by doing things he did not expect such as being honest with him, giving him options, and generally just accepting him as is. Then this morning, well wow was all he could think. He had decided to surprise her by sitting there with her Christmas present in hand when she woke up, only she was already awake when he got there and had just stepped out of the shower according to the way the towel clung to every curve, she definitely was not a child with a body like that.

"Damon?" he heard her question as she laid a hand over his.

He blinked and looked at her, he had been so lost in thought he hadn't realized he had finished chopping or that he had mixed his portion already and completed almost all of the steps on the dinner cards. "Hey, sorry," he replied, trying to smirk but it came out more like a slight smile.

"Everything alright?" she inquires softly.

He just nods, that smirk he wanted finally curls the corner of his lips. "Always," he answers, lifting and turning his hand so he can bring it to his lips for a soft kiss.

For a moment Elena just stares at him wide eyed. Before she can say or do anything, Jeremy comes stumbling down the stairs just waking up. The moment is ruined and she steps back shaking her head once. Jeremy gets his coffee and wanders into the living room to watch Scrooged with Jenna.

She looks over towards the living room, then steps a little closer to him, "can I ask a favor of you tomorrow?" she asks really softly so the other two cannot hear.

He nods, curious what she would need help with.

Just as softly she says, "I want to tell Jenna about what's going on but," she pauses shaking her head, "I am worried she will think that something is going on with me.

He nods again answering her softly, "what time would you like me here?" Of all the things she could ask that is really a simple one.

She smiles, responding, "Whenever you have time."

He nods, and the conversation lags for a moment as she goes back to working on her part of the food. Since his is done, he just watches her for a bit enjoying the way she moves and focuses. Once all of the prep work is done and everything is assembled as it should be the two of them join Jenna and Jeremy in the living room. The only place to sit is the couch since they are both in the chairs which means he is sitting next to Elena. For the next few hours the four of them take turns picking Christmas movies such as the Christmas Carol (the 1999 version), Miracle on 34th Street, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and the Ref. The only time any of them move is when Damon or Elena checks the food to see how it is coming along.

Shortly after six pm there is a knock at the door, Jenna gets up to answer it, Elena gets the dishes ready and sets the table, Damon checks the food one last time, and Jeremy just kind of watches it all from his spot in the living room.

Glancing over, he sees that it is Alaric who has just arrived, bringing with him a bottle of wine. He is kissing Jenna on the check in greeting when he looks up and his eyes met Damon's. The ice in his gaze that glares him is directed and abrupt, making Damon wonder what it is all about. For a moment he thinks he imaged it because seconds later Alaric is flirting away with Jenna but he can smell the hostility coming off of him. He'll have to confront him eventually, but not tonight. Tonight is about having a fun family dinner. Speaking of which, where is the last member of the family? He had no sooner thought that when another knock at the door occurs, followed by it being pushed open and Stefan stepping in with a small bag of presents in his hand.

"Hi," he greeted everyone gruffly.

The first few moments with everyone there was awkward to say the least. The tension in the air was like a visible entity. Then all of a sudden it was gone, as if it was decided to be put on hold for the day.

"So Damon, how long have you been here?" Alaric pipes up, as he sits down at the table next to Jenna who had sat down right after letting Alaric in.

He glances towards Alaric, replying, "Since shortly after Elena got up, I wasn't really paying attention to the time." He shrugs, giving a small smirk as he helps Elena and Jeremy set the table.

Stefan has also taken a seat, though he is next to Alaric at the end of the table. Once the entire dinner is set out on the table, the three sit down. Damon is across from Alaric and next to Elena who is sitting across from Jenna, while Jeremy is on his other side across from Stefan. Once everyone is situated Jenna says grace and everybody digs in.

"You two did surprisingly well," Jeremy comments, as he cuts himself another piece of ham to eat.

Conversation flows slowly but steadily, each relaying a favorite memory of the past year or previous Christmases. Both Stefan and Damon select past year for theirs while everyone else uses a Christmas memory.

By the end of dinner, he was mentally scratching his head trying to get the odd humans he seemed to have surrounded himself with. Alaric had kept an eye on him all night, which really made him want to ask why in a not polite way. Jeremy was day dreaming in and out of the conversation. Stefan was mostly talking with Alaric and giving him odd looks too, though he was sure those looks had something to do with the auburn hair woman sitting next to him. Jenna and Elena were talking with everybody in turn or who would answer, both were intentionally trying to get him to talk.

Once everyone was done, Elena was the first to spring from the table and park herself next to the tree, as the rest of the group joined her, he heard Jeremy mutter, "Something's never change," with a shake of his head. As everyone sat down on the floor, Jeremy set a trash bag down on the couch and took his spot. The pile of presents was quickly passed out so that each person had a small mound either beside or in front of them. He was actually surprised to see that his own pile was as bigger as Stefan, Alaric, and Jenna's.

As each person took their turns opening their presents he was mentally trying to figure out how he ended up where he currently was. Since when did he celebrate Christmas? Or even better question is when did he start not minding humans for more than just snacks? And how in the hell did he end up with more gifts than his brother? He thought everyone chose him first.

After Jenna, Alaric, Jeremy, and Stefan had opened their gifts he realized that the room had been silent for a few moments and mostly staring at him, though Jeremy is yawning as he does so. Awkwardly, because really what vampire who is normally an ass has practice at opening gifts he opens his pile of presents. The first one he gets is obviously from Jenna as it's another picture, this time it's from just the other day when they had been sitting at the table and Elena had stood up behind him, with a hand on his shoulder smiling. They had been discussing something stupid and had been joking with him about it. The second gift is a bottle of bourbon, not the best, but definitely worth trying, he is a bit surprised that the tag says from Jeremy who just shrugs when he glances at him. His last two gifts are from Elena, the first is a handmade arm band and the second is an empty silver frame.

Seeing the frame makes him smirk at her, cocking an eye brow in question. She just smiles back at him.

Elena is the last one to open her gifts, as she opens each she thanks the person she got them from. A peachy smelling bath kit had been left to her from Caroline, a silver charm of a crescent moon for a charm bracelet from Bonnie. Stefan had bought her a new pen set in a variety of colors. It was easy to tell it was a last minute gift because he was refusing to look at her. Jeremy had gotten her a super soft dark blue sweater. When she got to his gift he fretted a bit, not sure that it was going to be all that appropriate now that he thought about it though it had seemed perfect at the store. Carefully, she pealed the paper wrapping the flat box, she was startled to discover that it was a jewelry box, and slowly opened it to peek inside. Her eyes got wide as she looked up, a wobbly smile on her face.

"No crying or I got the wrong thing," he tells her thinking carefully about the moonstone pendant with a silver chain. The moon stone was carefully coated with vervain while the chain was made with vervain in the silver. He had sent the design to the girls and asked if they could have it made with vervain for Elena's protection, he was sure they had also charmed it before returning it because that was something they would do.

Jenna glances between the two of them, "well what is it?" her voice is full of curiosity.

Slowly, still a bit shocked by it, Elena turns the box towards her aunt showing her the necklace. Her eyes get just as wide as Elena's as she glances between it and him.

The next thing he knows, Elena has thrown herself across the space between them and is giving him a tight hug, it takes a moment for him to catch up mentally to what is happening and hug her back but he enjoys the contact for the duration. She seems to be oblivious to the evil glares being sent his way by his brother but Jeremy was not and elbowed Stefan in the side.

"Well put it on!" her aunt exclaims carefully removing it from the box. She smiles, leaning her head forward towards her aunt who unfastens her current pendant and puts the new one on her, "now that's a beautiful piece of work."

Not long after that both Stefan and Alaric decided it was time to go. After their goodbyes Elena started to clean up the kitchen, which prompted him to join her in the kitchen as well. "So you know," Damon begins, "that necklace has vervain on the moonstone and in the silver," his voice is soft, almost sheepish as he continues, "I thought you would like it, and ummm, well I got sick of seeing the one from Stefan. This way you have options."

She smiles at him again, putting the plate down and turning towards him. "Thank you Damon, it's perfectly beautiful."

Nothing else is said between them as they finish cleaning the mess that they had made, but it doesn't matter. A new understanding has been reached and there is something there just below the surface. He is sure in time it will come out but for now he was just working on being patient.


	16. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Elena's POV  
The day after Christmas had traditionally been a relaxing one, in this case Elena planned to relax as soon as she was done explaining the fact that her best friend was a witch, that her ex-boyfriend and other best friend were vampires, and that there was another one out there who looked just like her. As she got dressed in some comfortable clothing she could only hope that things would go smoothly. She was ever so happy that Damon had agreed to help her because it would make things easier for her.

Sometime after ten am, she heard a soft knock at her window, when she glanced over he was perched on the ledge smiling at her. She could never understand why he was so fond of the window to come through.

Smiling, she greets him, "morning Damon, I was just going to make coffee would you like some?"

"Sure," he replies smirking as he hops out of the window. He is pleased to see she has his necklace on instead of Stefan's.

The two of them head down stairs to the kitchen just as Jenna is coming out of her room. "Again, I could swear you left last night."

He chuckles at her, handing her the first cup of coffee when it is done. "I did, but I just like it here so much I have to come back for more."

Jenna just rolls her eyes, drinking her coffee. "I swear, you are an odd one."

Elena glances at her aunt, then Damon shaking her head. She is thinking of getting Jeremy up for extra backup though since it might be easier to accept it from the both instead of just her. Wait a moment, that's what Damon is for, however the point becomes mote when Jeremy comes down stairs still half asleep and grabs a cup of coffee asking, "so is today weird conversation day or is he here way too early for another reason?"

Jenna looks between her half asleep nephew and her niece, then over at Damon who is just sipping his coffee and staying quiet.

"Weird conversation? What weird conversation?" Jenna finally asks when nobody starts talking.

Elena glances between the two guys and her aunt, "ummm why don't you sit down? This might take a few minutes."

Refilling her cup, Jenna takes a seat at the table, saying, "Alright, I'm sitting now why are you acting weird?" she glances between Damon and Elena, "his brother didn't knock you up did he?"

Jeremy nearly chokes on his coffee at that pronunciation. While Damon swallows hard, obviously trying not to laugh.

"No," Elena tells her seriously, "definitely not. That would have been an easier discussion to have. So um, well here it goes." She pauses to take a deep breath, "you know how there are lots of legends about vampires in Mystic Falls? Well, there true. There are vampires in Mystic Falls, there are also witches, actually we know a couple of both of them."

Jenna stares at her for a long moment before replying, "you're kidding right? You don't honestly think I will believe that?"

Damon rolls his eyes and glances at Elena questioningly. When she nods he turns back to Jenna and snarls, allowing his fangs to show and his eyes to change, its brief but the look of utter shock on her face is enough for him to revert back to normal.

Elena nods, "yep, I expect you to believe it because both Stefan and Damon are vampires, as you can see. As for a witch, well that would be Bonnie and her grandmother Shelia."

Jeremy pipes up, "Ana's also a vampire, actually the entire reason I was told first is Ana."

Damon gets up and grabs a glass of water from the sink, handing it to Jenna. She downs it in one go, then looks at the three of them saying, "I need something stronger." Jeremy and Elena shake their heads, while Damon chuckles getting her a glass of wine instead. "So ummmm vampire?" Jenna finally says.

"Yep, he's a vampire, Stefan and Ana are vampires, the reason we have not invited Pearl, Ana's mother over is she is also a vampire." She pauses to take a breath, "you're taking this far better than I expected. What gives?"

Jenna sips on her second glass of wine for a few minutes before she replies, "I figure there has to be a reason your telling me, I can have a good break down over this later if need be but he's," she motions to Damon, "been in and out and hasn't hurt us yet."

Nobody says anything to that, Elena because she is considering the fact that her massive headache the day she was kidnapped due to him, Damon because he just didn't want to start anything, and Jeremy because he didn't know all the details and really did not want to open his mouth on it.

Eventually, Elena comments, "I wanted to tell you because there is a vampire out there named Katherine who looks just like me, I mean we could be identical twins, and while I do not expect her to come here, I still thought it would be best if you knew." She pauses for a moment, "so ummm, please do not invite anybody in. Offer them something to drink and if they come in on their own their not a vampire which should make them fairly safe, I hope anyways. "

Jenna glances at Damon who is avidly staring at the ceiling, "she's serious isn't she?"

"Yep, since Katherine is the one who turned both Stefan and I." he answers, still looking at the ceiling.

"Oh," she mutters, "I think I am going to go lay down, this is something to think on, though I promise not to say anything." As she stands up she glances at Elena, "is that why you said you wanted me to wear that bracelet you got me all the time? Is there something special about it?"

It's actually Jeremy who answers, "yeah, your bracelet like mine has some stuff in them that makes it impossible for a vampire to compel us. At least I think that's what it was."

Elena nods in confirmation. Jenna just gives a shake of her head and goes back in her room, taking the glass and bottle of wine with her.

Jeremy glances at her, "so should we be worried?"

"Nah, its aunt Jenna, she'll probably get drunk then decide that it's better than it could be." She replies chuckling. Jeremy just shakes his head and wanders over to the living room. Before he sits down he looks at Damon asking, "you wanna play?"

Damon politely declines, telling him he wants to talk with Elena for a bit. Shrugging, Jeremy turns on the gaming system and gets to it. Elena smiles at him, before saying she's going up stairs, he follows her up and leans against her door as she grabs a brush and starts brushing her hair while sitting on her bed.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she inquires, pulling the brush carefully down.

He smirks at her, walking over and taking the brush from her, settling down behind her he starts brushing her hair, "I was wondering why an empty picture frame?"

She leans back a little, surprised at how good he is at brushing her hair without pulling, and enjoying the feeling a bit more than she thought she would. It was something she would have to reflect on later. "Well, I noticed how much you liked the one Jenna gave you yesterday, so I went and bought a nice frame because I figured I would let you pick what picture goes in it. Jenna has already agreed to take some pictures so you have the choice of which one you want."

He pauses for a moment, setting his forehead against the back of her head. His voice is really soft, almost impossible for her to hear when he replies, "thank you." A moment later he goes back to brushing her hair.

The rest of the day seems to go in a blur, they do not do much more than hang out but it is time well spent, she asks him all sorts of questions about likes, memories, and anything else that comes to mind and much to both of their surprise he answers. Of course, in the sense of fair play she answers questions that he asks too.

This is something she always wanted to do with Stefan but he had never been willing to do. Now as she considers it, the clarity comes into effect, making her realize that Stefan was ashamed of the past and not ready to deal with it. Maybe someday that will be different but for now, it is the way things are and she is happy that she ended things when she did.


	17. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Hello everyone, thanks to you who are reviewing as always, sorry it took a couple days, real life has been difficult again. The next chapter should be up by Saturday. As always, reviews are appreciated!_

Elena's POV  
Journal,  
It's been a couple of weeks since Christmas and everything that had happened. Bonnie had decided to go visit with her aunt for a few weeks after Christmas, and has not yet returned. Jenna for the most part is acting as if she never knew anything about the oddness and vampires, but no one new has been invited in and she never removes her bracelet. Jeremy has yet to tell Ana that he knows, instead he just enjoys hanging out with her instead. Alaric seems to be around more as the dating between him and Jenna heats up. Stefan is around, but not as much as he had been while Damon is around almost all the time, with subtle flirting and charming, he cooks a lot.

"What you doing out here? It's cold," Jenna asks as she comes up the porch and spots her sitting in her writing spot.

She glances up from her journal, "thinking, writing," she pauses for a moment, "I was thinking about mom and dad, I was wondering, you said that you would do some digging about the, the adoption. "

Jenna sighs, "right."

"So did you?" she asks, tilting her head to the side, "Dig?"

Jenna smiles, nodding towards the door, "come on inside."

Closing her journal, she stood up and they walked into the house. The two of them went into what had been the study, Jenna pulls out a record log and turns on the laptop. "Your dad kept everything from his medical practice. Records, logs, old appointment books," she pauses for a moment, opening one of the books, "I found an entry from the night you were born, patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson." Jenna glances at her, who is staring at the log with fascination.

"Do you think that's her real name?"

Looking at the computer, Jenna replies, "as a teenage runaway, probably not. First name, maybe, but where did she get Peterson? A Classmate, best friend, so, I binged it. I searched for all of the Petersons in this area born in the same year as Isobel. Found three, two men and a woman." As she is talking she is typing on the computer, showing her exactly what she had done. "Trudy, who lived in Groveville, Virginia."

Elena glances between the screen and her aunt. She cannot believe that she has done so much so quickly. "That's not far from here," she comments.

A moment later Jenna has clicked a couple of links and brought up a picture of Isobel and Trudy, "Isobel," Elena comments, staring at that picture, "she was a cheerleader." The smile on her face is radiant.

"Trudy still lives there," Jenna tells her after a bit. "This is her address," she hands her a piece of paper.

Looking at the paper, she asks, "what about Isobel?"

For a moment Jenna glances at her, then she looks back at the computer replying, "I could not find anything about her." Elena sits down, slightly in shock, when her aunt continues, "listen, there is something else. Mr. Saltzman, Ric, his wife was from around here, and her name was also Isobel."

Confusion mares her face for a moment, "wait, was as in…" her voice trails off, she had just discovered who her parent was and now she was discovering she was already dead.

"She died," Jenna informs her softly.

Damon's POV  
A few hours later as Elena is folding her laundry to put away, a tapping at her window shows that Damon has arrived yet again. He flashes her a smile as he climbs in and perches on the window. "How's it going?" he inquires, relaxing. When she turns to look at him, he can tell she is upset. With a mildly concerned look, he hops off the window and walks over to her, "Elena?"

"I told you I'm adopted right?" she starts, he nods and she continues, "well come to find out my birth mother might be Alaric Saltzman's dead wife."

"Alaric?" he repeats, thinking about it, the odd teacher that had run into before at the school who seemed to be stuck staring at him. There had to be a reason, he had been meaning to think on it, but had not really been worried about it. Now though, he really wanted to know why.

"It can't be true, right? I mean the coincidence alone is just crazy." She mutters as she keeps working on her clothing, eventually she turns to look at him, "I have the address, for her friend Trudy."

He says nothing as he considers the situation. Eventually he inquires, "Do you want to talk to her?"

She shakes her head walking past him, "I don't know," she sighs, pausing, "I…I don't know. If it is true and they are the same person, that means that my birth mother is dead and I do not know if I can handle that."

Damon lays a hand on her shoulder, "if it helps think of it this way, you had a set of parents who cared for you. Maybe you don't know her because you were not supposed to. After all, she gave you up so she must suck."

She gives him a tired smile, "thanks, it sort of does."

Frowning, he thinks he hears his brother leave, but he had not heard him approach, he tells her, "Hey, I'll be back in a bit."

She nods, and keeps working on her laundry as he heads out. On his way to the boardinghouse he calls a trio of girls who have been fun to party with before, and use for a snack, he needs to carefully consider the Elena situation because something seems off to him. What better way to do so then to have a snack and think carefully while not thirsting? Besides, he hadn't killed in a while, so feeding directly from the vein was not going to harm anything.

The girls got there at the same time as him, though he noticed his brother was nowhere to be seen. That was alright, he really did not feel like dealing with him yet. The four of them go inside where he cranks on some music and breaks out something for the girls to drink. He knows it's just a matter of time before Stefan shows up to confront him on the conversation. So he wants to have his fun ahead of time. For a while the four of them party, which is to say lots of dancing and drinking for the girls, with him using each one in turn to feed.

When Stefan shows up he turns off the music and turns up the lights.

"No, buzz kill bob." He groans as he ducks his head down for a moment before lifting it back up to comment, "greetings."

With the patronizing look on his face Stefan asks, "Can we talk?"

He blinks in the suddenly bright room, "without the tri-delts."

"Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of them." He replies, lowering his voice he tells him, "they're really good at keeping secrets."

Stefan looks down with a slight shake of his head. Patting the girl on the rump he directs her to go join the other two before turning to look at Stefan, "you're worried about me. That's nice, don't be, I'm fine, I realize I spent the last one-hundred-forty-five years trying to get into that tomb and just when I decide it's not worth it, I discover it hadn't been worth it all along." He pauses for a moment, glancing at the girls then Stefan, "I can do whatever the hell I want, but I find that I am enjoying having a pattern that does not involve a diabolical plan."

Stefan raises an eyebrow, "that's kind of what I am afraid of."

As Stefan turns away and looks at the girls, he tells him, "relax, I haven't killed anyone in," he pauses for a moment, "too long."

Curious, Stefan inquires, "Those girls?"

"Will end up in their dorm with headaches, think they blacked out, business as usual. Predictable, you did not pull me over here for a prep-talk." He comments, putting emphasis on prep-talk. "Spill it brother," he tells him, waiting for Stefan to get to his point even though he has a good idea what it is already.

"There was a woman, you may have known. A few years back, named Isobel, in North Caroline Duke." Stefan replies, "I heard your conversation with Elena, that Isobel is probably the same one, you killed her."

Rolling his eyes he replies, "you wanna discuss the women of my past right now, seriously?"

"You killed her," Stefan replies.

"What's your point?" he inquires, knowing that this has to be going somewhere.

Stefan glances away before answering, "I just want to know if you remember anything about her."

Rolling his eyes again he comments, "It's like a needle in a hay stack, Stefan."

"Well think hard, it's important."

He claps a hand on his brother's shoulder, leaning close and commenting "nothing is important."

Stefan leaves and he goes back to feeding on the girls. Eventually, he is feeling as full as he is going to without killing them off, and gives each and every one of them a compulsion to return to their dorm room and go to bed, when they wake up they will remember nothing except for having a blast partying a little harder than they should of. In order to leave no marks he gives each a very small portion of blood so they will heal before they get into the car and return to the school.

If Stefan is asking me about this, perhaps I should try to remember, he thinks, after all, Elena is important to me, and I don't want my idiot brother trying to destroy my friendship with her. Particularly when all the signs say it's going to become something more. Hmmm, perhaps I need to speak with that teacher again and see if it strikes any cords in my memory.

With a smirk, he decides to head to the grill, where he discovers Alaric sitting at the counter drinking. "Bourbon," he tells the bartender as he takes a seat next to Alaric. "Behold, the teacher. Don't you have some papers to grade?"

Alaric takes a drink, replying "It's ah more fun with a buzz."

"Well most things in life are," he answers him, "sober is depressing."

After a moment's pause, Alaric comments "you don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed."

Glancing at him, he rejoins "you say that like you know me."

"Nope," he pauses to take a drink, then glancing at Damon he continues, "it is just a hunch."

He looks at him, a curious expression on his face. Before he says anything, Alaric comments "you have a good afternoon."

"Not likely," he replies sarcastically. Alaric finishes his drink and leaves, moments later the sheriff is standing there. The two of them start a discussion, she is there to ask him for a favor, the town has a bachelor raffle and they need one extra bachelor. He agrees, though they strike up a deal, he'll do the raffle and she will get information on Alaric.

He stops at Elena's on his way home but she is not there. He considers hanging around but decides its better to head home, he still has not figured out what the exact mystery is. Normally he wouldn't care, but he had already decided to try and keep this, whatever it was with Elena going, that required him to actually put some effort into it. Not that he was going to tell his brother that. When he gets home he is in the process of getting cleaned up when he hears someone come in.

"Damon?" he hears Elena call out, coming through the house.

He walks into the room with nothing but his boots and pants on, "yes?"

"You look, ummm…" she begins trailing off.

Walking towards her he comments, "Dashing, gorgeous, irresistible?" he stops just short of where she is standing and glances down at her.

She flounders for a moment, before replying, "wrecked," sounding a little breathy.

"No reason why," he replies before continuing, "do you know that I am one of Mystic Fall's most eligible bachelors?"

"Ha," she comments, watching him.

"Yep," he answers as he turns away. "Now what do you need? I am sure you did not come over here just for bachelor self, though that would be a pleasant surprise if you had." He grabs his shirt and starts to button it up only he keeps messing up.

She blinks at him in the mirror, replying, "I was going to tell you about my trip to Trudy's but you look busy, so I think I will just go to the fundraiser instead and we can talk about it later."

He turns back towards her, "help a guy out will ya? I can't get this."

She sighs, walking over to him, and helping him with the buttons, when she is up close her nose does a little twitch, "have you been drinking?"

"Only a little, I have been thinking way too much," he answers, watching her as she fastens the buttons.

Before she has a chance to say anything Stefan comes in, "hey Elena, I thought you were going to the fundraiser?"

She smiles, "I was just leaving," she tells him, "I was going to talk with Damon but he is a bit busy right now."

Not wanting to interrupt something he is sure to be informative he steps into the other room and continues to get dressed. However, he does listens in on their conversation, he knows that Stefan loves making him out to be the bad guy and that it drives Stefan nuts that he is actually better friends with Elena now than Stefan is.

"Well I would like to talk to you, about Isobel, I heard your conversation earlier with Damon and was going to offer to go with you to see Trudy but I have a feeling you have already gone, what did you learn?"

He hears her take a deep breath, "she has vervain, so she knows something, it cannot all be coincidence."

"No, it's not, this is Alaric's wife, Isobel."

There is a short pause then Elena asks, "He gave this to you?"

"Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from her. He believes she was killed by one."

"Oh my god," she gasps.

Sighing, he heads to his room to grab a different jacket, when he gets back down stairs Stefan is waiting for him but Elena is nowhere in sight. Confronting him, he asks where Elena is at which point he refers to her already on her way to the Grill for the auction. When he inquires what Stefan wants he pulls out a picture of a woman who Damon recognizes and everything clicks together for him. Of course with Stefan he plays dumb, but he now plans to go talk to Elena about it as soon as possible. With that he leaves and heads to the Grill to be one of the guys auctioned off.

When he gets there he talks with the hostess for a bit before the sheriff calls him over about the favor that he requested. Once he has that information he decides that maybe he should be cruel to Alaric but changes his mind about it because he can see Elena in the crowd. He rather speak with her first before taunting Alaric. As the auction continues the hostess asks each contest about themselves and he just barely refrains from being a jack ass.

As the auction clears up and the guys are dismissed off of the stage, Damon looks for Elena and spots her in the crowd. Moving as quickly as humanly possible, he makes his way to her side where he murmurs to her, "Can I have a moment to speak with you?"

She nods and the two of them step outside, he can feel Stefan's eyes on him as they step out.

"I realize you must wonder why I wanted a word, but I figured I should tell you before Stefan decide to." He tells her, pausing for a moment he glances around before continuing, "Isobel, your birth mother, Alaric's 'dead' wife, isn't really dead. Well she is but she isn't. I turned her into a vampire, at her request I will add before you get your gander up. I figured you would want to know."

Elena seems to be in complete shock as she stares at him through wide eyes. Tears look like they threaten to fall, but they don't. Instead she just stares at him, almost accusingly.

Sighing, he runs a hand through his hair, "it was before I met you, hell I didn't even know you existed. But I can say one thing, I stand by what I said previously."

She blinks, "what?"

He gives her a small smirk, "You remember, when we were talking about it earlier and I said she must suck, I still stand by it, only know I am thinking she sucks more because apparently she has a history of abandoning people."

He watches her reaction, when he is sure she is not going to cry, he offers her a hug which she accepts before heading back in. When he turns around, he finds Stefan standing behind him, listening to the conversation.

"I thought you didn't know who she was," Stefan says accusingly.

Damon shrugs, "I wasn't completely sure until the sheriff showed me her license and it was oh-so-tempting to be a complete ass to Alaric, but I remembered my conversation with Elena and decided she should know first."

With nothing left to say he heads back inside with Stefan not far behind him, when neither sees Elena they head out the front door to find her talking to a strange man. As soon as she answers that she understands, the man steps in front of a truck, committing suicide. Both brothers go to her side, asking if she is alright, and she finds herself back in Damon's arms as he mutters comfortingly to her.


	18. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Thanks again for the reviews and to all the silent readers for taking the time to read even if you not, review, all and all, I still like receiving the reviews so I know which parts people love, hate, or scratch their head over. _

Damon's POV  
Once Elena had calmed down and had retrieved the phone from the man who had just committed suicide he went back in the bar to alert the sheriff of his death, while Stefan was taking Elena home. Normally he would have complained about Stefan doing so, but he really wanted to find out who the guy who had just killed himself was. After notifying the sheriff he heads home to think on the events of the night.

He had a chance to rub it in Alaric's face that he killed his wife but had passed it up because he had not wanted to hurt Elena. Of course, he had a feeling that Alaric was planning on showing up here for revenge or some other thing, he would get his chance then to rub it in that he had changed her. A good gloating session would be good for him. Possibly. Frowning he considered when it became a possibly instead of a definitely. Sighing, he poured himself a glass of bourbon and waited to see what happened.

Just minutes after he had poured his drink, as he was pouring himself a second he heard the footsteps and heart beat of a human other than Elena. Not even bothering to look because he was sure it was Alaric he inquires, "Are you really this stupid?" As he takes a drink of his bourbon he turns around to look at him, commenting "guess so."

Before Alaric has a chance to say or do anything, Damon has set his glass down and used his vamperic speed to throw him across the room. Rolling back to his feet, Alaric re-grips the stake that he has in his hand as Damon asks, "are you going to put down the stake? Wow," he says rolling his eyes, "that's courage."

Still in a fighting stance Alaric demands, "Where's Isobel? What have you done with my wife?"

Damon paces the edge of the room watching him before he begins to speak in a conversational tone, "would you like me to tell you I killed her, would that make you happy? 'Cause I think you know what happened."

"I saw you feeding on her," Alaric growls.

Damon gives a half smirk moving closer, "yeah I did, she was delicious. Completely, utterly delicious."

Alaric rushes at him, with the stake but Damon merely grabs his arm, and throws him backwards onto the floor. He lands hard and for a moment kneels on the floor.

With a shake of his head Damon continues in the conversational tone, "Oh come on what do you think happened? Not an inkling, you never considered the possibility." He pauses for a moment before continuing, "I turned her."

Gasping for breath, Alaric asks "why?"

"She came to me, all pathetic looking for vampires. There was something about her, something I liked, something special…" Damon trails off lost in thought.

"You turned her because you liked her?"

Looking back at Alaric he replies, "No, I slept with her because I liked her, I turned her because she begged me to." He pauses for a moment, tilting his head to the side, "but you knew that too didn't you? Hmmm, I guess she wasn't happy at home. Wasn't happy with life in general. Wasn't happy with you."

He had barely finished speaking when Alaric rushes at him again with the stake. This time instead of just tossing him he twists his arm around and shoves the stake into Alaric's chest. Pushing it deep within the lung cavity and holding it there.

"This is a shame. You see, we're kindred spirits, abandoned by the women we love, unrequited love sucks." He pulls his hand back hard and removes the stake, "sounds like I got a lung, which means I get to sit here and watch you die." He lets him go dropping him to the floor as he goes and pours himself another drink then sits down on the divan and observes Alaric as his lung floods with blood, suffocating him.

He is still sitting there watching the fire place with Alaric dead at his feet when Stefan comes into the room.

"How's Elena?" he inquires just as Stefan spots Alaric and asks, "What happened? What did you do?" as he rushes to check Alaric.

"Do what? He attacked me," Damon replies from his spot.

Stefan jerks upright, looking at him with a frustrated expression, "Damon."

With a slight wave of his hand, he continues, "all I did was tell him the truth, I didn't even rub it in his face when I had a chance. His wife didn't want him any more, not my fault he could not handle it."

"Like you handled Katherine?" Stefan responds.

Smirking, he answers, "I have been handling that fine since I decided I didn't want her, before the tomb was opened I might add." He doesn't add that he had changed due to a girl who was Katherine's physical twin but as different from her as night and day.

Stefan glances back at Alaric, sorrow on his features.

Annoyed by his brother, he comments, "you know what, Isobel came to me. She found me, if she is related to Elena, who's related to Katherine, maybe Katherine sent her to me." He smirks for a moment before giving a shake of his head. "It cannot be a coincidence, of course, that would have meant more before I gave up on Katherine. I doubt you're going to answer me about Elena." Pausing to finish his drink he motions to Alaric's body, "I assume you will take care of this?" Without even bothering to wait for a reply he stands up and leaves the room, he is not even down the hall when he hears a gasp from the other room.

"What happened? What's going on?" he pauses mid-step to listen to the man who should be dead as he talks.

"Did Damon turn you?" he hears Stefan ask, his voice full of concern.

Confusion mars Alaric's voice as he replies, "I went for him and he uh, he stabbed me."

Stefan sounds disbelieving, "no, no, no, no," he says in quick succession, "you must have vampire blood in your system, somebody slipped it to you."

"No, it's ah, it's something else," Alaric responds.

"Then how?"

"I…" Alaric begins, after a brief pause he states, "Isobel." For a moment all becomes silent, he is just about to move on when he hears him speak again. "This ring protected me."

Stefan's voice is full of shock and disbelief, "that's impossible."

"I know."

Shaking his head, he heads up to his room to relax and think. He knows that the girls' witchy family can making magical items that can protect the wearer but how would Isobel have gotten something like that when they do not sell those items? Maybe there is a different witch out there who does or did, depending on how old the ring is. In the morning he will go check on Elena, he only hopes that she is not totally pissed at him for something that had happened before she entered the picture.

Elena's POV  
Once she got home she had bid Stefan a good night and told him to go away, she wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

The biggest thing that kept swirling in her mind was the fact that Damon had changed Isobel into a vampire. What surprised her even further is that he had admitted it to her, and still held his ground that she must suck for abandoning her. It was odd and not something that she expected out of Damon on one hand, but something she totally expected out of him on the other hand. In recent weeks since the tomb and Christmas, he had been trying his hardest to act more like a friend to her by visiting with her, keeping Jeremy occupied at times, cooking, and just being there for support. He had listened when she had told him she was adopted and tried to comfort her then. Upon discovering who her mother was, he had maintained that view, even after realizing that the Isobel in question was one that he had known and turned into a vampire.

She smiled faintly as she thought about the odd blue-eyed vampire, most the time she tried to not think about him because it made her head spin in ways that she was not ready to deal with.

Sighing, she walked up to her room and sat on the edge of the bed. Reflectively, she lifted the picture of her parents and her off of the night stand and stared at it for a moment. Did she really need to discover more about Isobel? From what she had learned so far, there was not much good about her. She had parents who had loved her, why did it matter so much?

Lifting the phone that she had picked up from beside the suicidal man, she hits send on the last phone number called and can barely believe it when a woman's voice comes across the phone. For a moment she merely listens before murmuring, "Isobel?"

Nothing else was said as the person on the other line hung up. There had to be a reason why a man would warn her to stay away then commit suicide, have Isobel's number be the only thing on the phone. It didn't make sense and not even the clarity spell that helped her to understand a great many things was giving her any ideas as to why.

Flopping back on her bed she decided to go to sleep, morning would be soon enough to consider everything that is going on again. For now she was just going to rest.


	19. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Ana's POV  
In the last few weeks since the tomb has opened many of the vampires from within it have slowly made their way to us. Not all of them were able to get out but there are at least fourteen of them that did. Only a small number of them that have left the tomb have also left the community in search of new lives and homes.

Of those that had joined her mother Pearl, many thought that she was taking too much time getting the city back, while others agreed that it was best that they continue on as they were, learning as much as possible about the world now. One's like Frederick who are chomping at the bit to do something are beginning to get on her nerves. Particularly since he doesn't want to learn about this time frame, he just wants revenge and to kill.

As she passes through the house she observes all of those who are around, some are grumbling about the confinement, others are fine with their lot and enjoying just not being in the tomb. In the kitchen she finds Mrs. Gibbons' allowing Frederick to feed off of her. She can hear that her heart is racing from having too much blood removed and suggests that she rests, though Frederick countermands that and compels her to believe she is find.

It annoys her greatly but there is not much that she can do about it at this point. Before she leaves the room, she gets the keys for the car and her credit card from Mrs. Gibbons. With a shake of her head she keeps moving through the house. Vampires like him annoyed the hell out of her. She had spent the last hundred plus years fitting in and not getting caught and now his behavior threatened that safety.

When she heads into the other room she finds her mother and Harper using her phone, Pearl is showing him how it works and she hears a message from Jeremy come across it.

Smiling at her, Harper inquires, "Who was that?"

Giving a small smile back, she replies, "Jeremy Gilbert," as she takes her phone and clears it.

"Is that your boyfriend?" he asks curiously.

Before Ana has a chance to respond, Pearl stands, answering for her, "of course not." Her voice is full of worry and frustration at the idea. She walks almost to the other side of the room before turning to her and asking, "What do you think?"

Glancing at her mother's outfit she replies, "Very respectful."

Pearl looks down at her outfit, smoothing it out a little, "that's the goal, I can't say that I miss corsets," she tells her daughter with a smile.

Smiling, Ana tells her, "Suisse sunshine gave me her car keys and her ATM card." She has a slight chuckle to her tone.

Curious about the unfamiliar word Pearl asks, "What's that?"

Grinning, she replies, "I'll explain later."

They are getting ready to leave when Frederick gets in the way, wanting to know where they are going and why. Pearl answers him politely, though coldly. When Frederick starts to whine about things, Harper volunteers to keep an eye on things. With nothing else to say, Frederick steps to the side but gives Ana and Pearl a frustrated look as they pass him.

Elena's POV  
After the recent events she was seriously trying to figure out what it was that made Stefan hate his brother so much that everything Damon did was considered colored against him. Stefan had been pissed that Damon had spoken to her about Isobel, but not him. Yet she saw that as a good thing, particularly since it showed that he was slowly changing into someone different. When Monday morning got here, she ran into Stefan at the school who wanted to talk to her about Damon, almost acting like he is trying to warn her off.

Leaning against the wall by her locker Stefan comments, "Damon hasn't said a word to me. Every time I try to talk to him he shuts me down."

She glances over at him, inquiring, "Do you think he is still trying to find Katherine?" Yet even as she asks that question, she knows the answer is no. He had changed far too much it seemed and was trying to make a new life for himself.

Shaking his head Stefan replies, "I don't know." He pauses before continuing, "He waited a hundred-forty-five years only to find out that Katherine could not care less. I mean that's got to hurt right?"

Elena says nothing, still thinking that there is a piece of the puzzle that she is missing, she is just not sure where or how to get it. Then there are the other things on her mind past the situation with Damon.

Giving a small smile with a touch of questioning to it, Stefan comments "you have every reason to be upset with him and yet you're not. Have you thought any more about it?"

Sarcastically she answers, "About what? Isobel, my vampire birth mother, who is related to my vampire ancestor Katherine, who screwed over your vampire brother? Nah, I have not thought about it at all." There are times Stefan is really annoying with his foolish questions, she thinks with a small shake of her head.

He gives another small smile at her tone, "I am sorry I am part of it."She tells her quickly, with barely a breath

Sighing, she voices her desire, "It would just be nice if there could be just one day without headaches. I just want to get back to normal stuff like school, and homework, and here's a thought, fun."

"Ooh, that sounds good to me, when do we start?" his tone is slightly flirty, which is not uncommon since she had ended things with him.

She giggles. Knowing that he is trying to act like nothing is going on for her sake. Leaving her locker she bids him farewell, when he tries to kiss her she turns away fast and walks off without saying a word. He will eventually get the point, she is sure of that.

In between classes a few hours later, Caroline joins Elena and Stefan at the lockers, "Can I ask a favor?"

She tilts her head sideways, "sure, what is it?"

Caroline takes a deep breath, "I know you two are not dating, but do you think we could go out as a group tonight? You, Stefan, Matt and me? We haven't gone out before, and I don't want it to be uncomfortable. Look, the couple dynamics have changed and there has been a little awkwardness between you, Matt, and me and I just think it is important that we get over it." She tells her quickly, with barely a breath between sentences, a hopeful smile on her face.

Shaking her head because she is trying to avoid date like situations with Stefan since they are not dating, she starts to say, "I don't know…"

When Stefan interrupts her to reply, "I think it sounds like a great idea."

Rolling her eyes, Elena comments, "you do?" knowing that he is hopeful it will lead to them getting back together which is not happening.

Stefan nods once, "yeah, a nice evening out with friends, sounds fun. As in, fun."

She gives a small shrug, "an evening of friends it is."

Grinning happily, Caroline says, "So we will see you tonight," before she heads off to her next class.

Shaking her head Elena glances at Stefan and tells him, "okay, we will do this for them, however we are _not_ dating. I was serious when I said that we were done."

He nods and the two of them head off to their classes.

Damon's POV  
Walking down stairs he notices that something seems off. As he looks around he is trying to figure out exactly what it is that has his nerves up. He had just walked into the living room when he notices Pearl and Ana waiting for him.

With her back turned to him, Pearl greets him, "hello Damon."

Giving her an annoyed look he sarcastically inquires, "ever hear of knocking?" as he stops a few feet away.

"An invitation was not necessary, I am surprised that no living person resides here, is it just you and your brother?" she replies as Ana comes to stand next to her.

Smirking a little, he replies with a shrug.

"Yeah, how do you keep out unwelcome vampires?" Ana queries.

Flashing a grin he fast moves to Pearl, grabbing her throat and replying, "kill them."

However Pearl is not weak anymore and returns the favor with far more strength than he has which causes him to let her go. "Damn," he murmurs as she chokes him and throws him at the divan.

With a small smile she tells him, "Have a seat Damon."

Deciding it will be easier to listen, he does so. However he is sure that this is not a conversation that he is going to want to have.

Ana moves to stand on the other side of her mother, as Pearl says "I was hoping we could have a word."

Smirking, he replies, "sure," and then settles back into the divan, keeping an eye on her in the process.

For a moment Pearl paces around before deciding where to sit across from Damon. While Ana looks around at the difference in the house since the last time she was there. He just waits to see what they have to say.

Finally Pearl begins, "we have taken up residence in a farm house on the outside of town, it will suffice for now."

Giving her a mildly confused look he asks, "All twenty-five vampires?"

"Not all of them, some," she answers.

Curious he listens to her. Victoria had said that the seal would only allow those who were supposed to be out to exit the tomb and the rest would die by fire. He doubted that she was wrong, but was curious about how many of them were 'supposed' to be out of the tomb. While he did not believe in fate the same way the girls did, he knew their magic often used fate as a descriptor because they said it was more natural that way.

Continuing she comments, "I imagine that a few have already left town. Others are probably still in the woods or like us, acclimating." For a moment she says nothing as he continues to look thoughtful. "I understand from Ana that the founding families still have a secret council."

"And you're a part of it," Ana adds as he chuckles, rolling his eyes.

Glancing away from them he replies, "That's ridiculous." The only people he feels the need to be truthful with is Elena and Victoria, and Victoria is more because she already knows the truth so lying never works.

"I've been in Mystic Falls since the comet Damon, I'm up to speed." Ana tells him with a shake of her head.

Lifting her head a bit, Pearl continues, "and so am I, now that you have infiltrated the council I'll need to know everything that they know, starting with a list of names of all the council members and their families."

"And everyone you have supplied with vervain." Ana pipes in.

"Yes, that will have to stop immediately." Pearl adds.

Getting a serious look on his face, he asks, "What exactly are you trying to achieve?"

"Mystic Falls is our home Damon, they took that from us. Our land, our home, it is time we rebuild." Pearl responds.

"What are you, crazy?" he comments sarcastically, "it was 1864, wake up woman the world has moved on."

"As a reward for your help I am willing to give you what you want most."

Narrowing his eyes he replies, "I want nothing."

"Katherine." Pearl tells him.

Smirking, he glances at Ana, "did she not mention I don't want her anymore? I haven't wanted her since before the tomb was opened."

"Katherine and I were best friends long before we came to Mystic Falls Damon. I know how she thinks, I know her patterns, I know where to find her."

For a moment he looks at her thoughtfully before he leans forward seriously and informs her, "I no longer have any desire to see Katherine ever again. I haven't desired it for a while. And there is no way in hell I am going to play the role of your little minion."

He goes to stand up but Pearl fast moves and shoves him back into the divan, snarling, "I am not asking for your help Damon. Finding Katherine was just a mere gesture of kindness. The rest is non-negotiable." Before he can say or do anything, she slams her fingers into his eyes, destroying them and causing them to need to re-grow. "I have four hundred years on you little boy, I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking and you know it. I'll be in touch." With that both her and Ana turn and leave the house. Leaving him kneeling on the floor, blind.

After a bit his eyes heal up though they are extremely sensitive, agitated, he grabs his phone. There is more than one way to deal with this situation and he refuses, absolutely refuses to become the minion of a vampire who got herself trapped and now wants revenge. "Victoria?" he queries as the phone is picked up, "can you ward the house to keep unwanted visitors of any type out?" he does not bother saying who it is since she will know automatically.

He can practically hear her grin through the phone, "of course, Uncle. We will be there tomorrow evening or the following morning, I have to finish my current assignment first."

He nods once, then replies, "my thanks, will you need anything to do so?"

"Nope, just know that today and tomorrow will be a bit crazy for you. Past that, you are on the right path for the changes you have made and it is down to only two paths that will occur. If you would like I will explain what I can when we get there?" her voice is soft, almost like silk on the phone but he knows that she is also watching his expression through her ability to see so he does not actually have to answer.

He shrugs in response, "let's see what happens first."


	20. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_All three points of views take place at pretty much the same time until the end where it finishes with Jeremy. _

Elena's POV  
After school Stefan shows up at the house, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, "I know you said this is not a date between us, but I still thought I would bring you flowers." He tells her as she opens the door and he comes in.

She smiles at him, thinking it is a sweet gesture but it is long overdue and not as effective now as it would have been then. As she goes to put them into a vase he continues to speak.

"I would have driven too but you're the one with the car."

With a curious expression on her face she says, "You know, you would think that for someone who was around when the car was invented that you would have one."

Giving a small smirk, he replies, "Oh I have one, I just, never drive it."

For a moment she considers asking if they can cancel but decides against it because she feels that there needs to be some normal in her life. However she does stress to him again that they were not dating because she really does not want him getting the wrong idea from this. To her it is just a matter of meeting up with a couple of friends. She is secretly hoping that she will run into Bonnie or Damon because otherwise the night is liable to get way to long for her.

When they get to the bar a short while later they meet up with the other two. For a bit the four of them talk with Matt and her sharing past experiences as random topics are brought up. Tension is ripe in the air because Caroline is having a difficult time with the fact that they have such a history. According to her body language you can almost tell that she wishes that Elena was still dating Stefan, and then maybe there would not be so much tension.

After a bit a loud laugh catches the group's attention and they turn to see Jenna, Kelly, and Damon drinking together at the bar. Almost as if he realizes they are there, Damon turns and raises his glass to them right before downing it.

After taking the time to eat, the four of them decide to play a couple of rounds of pool. As they play more reminiscing is brought up, this time by Caroline but she ends up getting upset when again Elena and Matt share a past moment together. When this frustrates Caroline too much, she excuses herself and heads to the bathroom and pauses by Elena for a moment to ask her to come along to. Elena also excuses herself and follows her friend to the bathroom knowing that Caroline is ready to have a minor break down.

The clarity that had helped her with Damon and Stefan so often flares up, making her realize what Caroline is worried about before they even get there. She knows she's going to have to reassure her friend because right now her friend is feeling insecure. In the restroom, both girls use the bathroom and she waits for Caroline to bring up the real reason they are back there, as she goes to wash her hands Caroline speaks up.

"So umm, what are you doing?"

Turning around, Elena does not answer as she waits for Caroline to continue, which she does momentarily. "Well the point of this was to show him how much you care about Stefan and no to hop scotch down memory lane."

Sighing, she replies, "I was just trying to make conversation."

Caroline looks at her desperately, "try a little less," then goes to walk out.

"Caroline," she calls to her friend, who pauses, "you do remember that I am not dating Stefan right? I'm single. We came as a pair because you asked both of us. But I am not getting back with him, however I am no threat to you, I don't want Matt back."

Caroline doesn't respond and just walks out of the bathroom, leaving her standing there wondering why she had come to the bar knowing something like this was bound to happen. As she exits the restroom, sighing, "Caroline," a strange man with dark coloring grabs her arm questioningly, "Katherine?"

She studies him briefly, responding, "I'm sorry you have the wrong person."

"Elena, come on," Caroline comments, seeing the guy who had grabbed her arm.

She glances between the dark colored man and Caroline, he release her arm saying it was his mistake. She gives him a small smile before returning to Stefan and Matt and inquiring how everything is going. He notices that her nerves are up and she answers that all is fine out loud while texting Damon that the guy had just called her Katherine and showing to Stefan. Both Salvatore brothers glance that way but he is already gone.

When the vampire vanishes both Stefan and Elena suggests that they head out, so the two pairs get into their respective vehicles and drives to the boardinghouse. On the ride to the house, Elena and Stefan discuss the vampire. He suggests that they call it a night but she refuses, wanting to finish this off. As Caroline and Matt pull in he tries to kiss her but she turns her head to the side sighing, "Stefan, stop."

A few minutes later the four of them are walking into the boardinghouse. Caroline makes a comment about it being better than watching Kelly and Damon party, while Matt asks her not to remind him and comments on the fact that he had always wanted to see the inside of the boardinghouse. When Matt spots the model car collect Stefan and Matt get to talking about cars. Stefan decides to show Matt his car, and leads the group to the garage where it is parked.

His car is a Porsche 356. For a moment Matt goes all lovey-dovey about the car. It's rare, beautiful and just about perfect condition. When Caroline makes a smart-ass comment about it being hard to make out in sports cars Matt rejoins that he hadn't had that problem, referring to his and Elena's relationship which sends Caroline walking off and Elena following her.

Elena follows Caroline to the edge of the driveway where she is staring out into the woods, "Caroline," she sighs as approaches. For a moment they Caroline vents at her about the fact that she is nothing but the backup and Elena has such a hard time understanding it. She is just about ready to say something to Caroline about it, when the rev of an engine pulls both girls attention to the driveway where Stefan's car is pulling out of the garage and into the driveway.

As the guys get out of the air, the tension can be felt ripping through the air. Stefan suggests that they take the car out for a spin, before stepping next to Elena and inquiring if everything is alright. She glances at him and replies, "If it's not vampires, its girlfriends."

Sighing, he gives her a half hug and they stand there waiting for the pair to get back. When the pair get back the tension is finally gone, they head inside and are surprised to see Damon standing in the hall.

Damon's POV  
After making the phone call to Victoria he decides he wants to head to the Grill in order to get something to drink that he does not have to deal with himself. If Victoria is right and things are about to get crazy then he wants to be as relaxed as possible first. Upon getting to the Grill he takes a seat at the bar.

When a dark brown haired woman glances at him and asks, "What's with the glasses inside?"

He remembers that he has his sunglasses on to protect his currently sensitive eyes. "My eyes are a little sensitive," he replies as he removes them.

"You're new around here," she comments, looking him over.

Raising his eyes he responds, "Oh, on the contrary I am very old," before ordering his drink from the bartender.

She glances a way for a moment before looking back at him, "I haven't been gone that long, I would remember someone who looked like you."

For a few minutes they talk about the fact that she finds a man drinking away their sorrows attractive and about the fact she was supposed to be there for an interview but the manager apparently decided not to do it. He comments back about the matter and ignores her flirting.

When Jenna comes walking up saying, "Kelly? Kelly Donovan," in a startled voice, he turns around and greets her.

The two women start to catch up with each other as he sits there and listens to them and joins them in drinking and chatting. After a bit a slight tingle alerts him that Elena and Stefan are in the Grill. He spins around as the ladies laugh at something said and spots them sitting with Caroline and Matt. Smirking, he raises his glass to Elena before downing his drink.

Still smirking he returns to listening to the ladies talk and playing drinking games with them. Kelly keeps flirting with him, but he is sure that he does not feel like going there tonight, which for him is a very odd feeling, since he rarely doesn't want to go there. As he downs his next drink he cannot help but wonder if the reason he does not want to accept her is because he is hoping to win over a certain dark haired woman who is currently seated with his idiot brother, her ex, and the living Barbie. That alone causes food for thought.

Victoria was right. It was going to be a crazy night.

When Jenna finally realizes that they are there he wants to chuckle at how she suddenly tries to be serious but he doesn't because that would be no fun. Curious as to why the two girls have separated themselves from the rest of the group, he listens with his vampiric hearing to their conversation in the bathroom.

The conversation between the girls is almost comical except he can tell that Elena is feeling stressed. As she comes out of the bathroom he hears the man say Katherine and swivels around on the stool to look at him. It takes him a moment but he soon realizes that the man is one of the tomb vampires as is the woman with him. He is considering getting up to see if Elena needs assistance when he lets go. She returns to where Matt and Stefan are and the next thing he knows his phone is going off. Glancing at it he sees it's a message from Elena about the vampire but when he looks back the pair is gone.

His attention turns back to Elena and her group as they pay for their bill and decide to go to the boarding house. It's about time to excuse himself. As he gets ready to stand up, Kelly tries using a cherry to get him to kiss her, but he respectfully declines. Focusing his gaze on her, and trying to subtly compel her he asks, "Why don't I take you home so you can rest?"

Her gaze blurs for a moment before she repeats it back to him, and stands up. Dropping some money on the counter he glances at Jenna saying, "Have a good night," as he smirks. Since she knows about vampires, she has a pretty good idea what he had just done. The two of them leave and he drives her back to her place with her car. When they get there he leaves her at the door, after tossing the keys into the house and at the counter. She looks like she's going to say something but the compulsion holds and she does not.

Shaking his head, he fast travels to the Grill to get his car before he heads back to the boardinghouse to see what else is going to be crazy about the night.

When he gets back to the boardinghouse he groans as he is walking into the living room the four walk in, Elena is the one to ask, "What happened with Kelly?"

"I left her at her house, completely wasted I might add, and I didn't even take advantage of it," he replies with a smirk.

Matt glances at Caroline, who nods telling him it's alright, while Elena tells him she can give Caroline a ride. The three of them leave, with Stefan seeing them out. When Stefan comes back in he is sitting in front of the fireplace in the library when a vampire comes through the window and attacks Stefan. For a moment Damon is startled but then all hell breaks loose as he goes after the vampire and a female vampire jumps into the room as well. Stefan kills the female while Damon tosses the male across the room and he does a quick vanishing act.

"I remember them from 1864, they were in the tomb," Stefan comments, holding his chest where the wound is healing.

Damon whips a hand across his face, "yeah, about that," he begins

Jeremy's POV  
He was sitting at home relaxing, thinking about everything he had learned about in the last few weeks when he heard the doorbell ring. The last time he had spoken with Ana the week before she had commented that her mother had wanted to relocate the family elsewhere and he had not seen her since. Part of him was curious if they really were going to relocate or if there was something else going on. Lost in thought, he opened the door and was surprised to see Ana standing there.

"Ana?" he comments, slightly shocked. He had not yet had a chance to confront her about being a vampire and is not sure how he is going to do so.

Smiling at him, she inquires, "surprised?"

He glances away for a moment before responding, "I thought you and your mother were leaving town."

She nods once, then gives a small shake of her head, "hmm, change of plans," she tells him smiling at him. Tilting her head to the side and giving it a small shake she continues, "I'm sorry I thought you be psyched."

The lost look on his face is replaced by one of welcoming as he answers, "No, no, no, I mean, I am." He pauses for a second looking down before continuing, "of course I am."

Giggling, she says, "All right then, step aside," as he smiles at her and lets her in.

His smile fades as she walks into the house with her back to him, and changes into a more serious expression. He is sure it is time for him to confront her about being a vampire, he is just not sure how to yet.

After he closes the door, he goes over to the couch to sit down next to her, inquiring about the fact that they were supposed to move so what had caused them to change their minds. Ana tells him it's because her mom had gotten a business opportunity so they were going to stick around to see how it went. She continues on to tell him that she is going to be going to high school and hopes to act like a normal teenager for a change.

Smiling at her, he sees the perfect opportunity to bring up the subject of vampires, "Well I wish you were there now, I actually have to write another paper and I was thinking about squeezing one more out on the vampires in Mystic Falls."

He watches her closely as she responds to see if she is going to admit to being a vampire or not.

A slightly guarded expression crosses her face, "Really? Haven't you exhausted the subject?" she glances away, a worried look on her face.

He tilts his head sideways, answering, "no, no I wanna go deeper you know? I want to understand why people were labeled as vampires back in the day." She looks down at the table in front of them, a pensive look on her face as he pauses for a moment before continuing. "I mean, maybe there is such a thing as vampires, just different from the way we always thought they were."

She gives a small shake of her head asking, "what do you mean?"

For a moment he considers what to say before he comments, "well, ah, maybe they are normal and good, just outsiders, you know." He pauses for a moment to consider the word he wants before going on, "uh, misunderstood."

She smiles at him, relaxing, and he realizes that she is not going to take this chance to say something about it, instead she queries, and "You're kidding right?"

Leaning towards her he says seriously, "don't you think it could be possible? You did give me all of that info."

Eventually her voice becomes frustrated, "Jeremy, I made it up, okay. You were all cute and thoughty, and I wanted to make a good impression." As she is speaking she is give a small shake to her head.

Sitting back he doesn't respond, instead he considers how to get her to tell the truth on the matter. Particularly since he knows that she had considered feeding him to her mother for some reason not known to him.

For a while they visit, then he suggests that they get something to eat. They are in the kitchen getting ready to make sandwiches when he decides that he is going to push the point with her, he asks her to grab the bread so he can cut a slice and as soon as she walks over to where it is at, he runs the knife across his hand groaning softly in pain.

She turns to look at him, a serious look on her face as she asks, "What did you do?"

He tilts his head sideways asking her, "It's just a cut can you hand me that towel?" As he is speaking he is watching her reaction, knowing that it is unlikely she will be able to hide it for long. She gets really nervous and doesn't want to get near him but he pushes the point. Stepping up to her until she loses control and slams him into the wall on the other side of him.

"What are you doing?" she growls at him.

He gives a faint smile, "Elena told me, I wanted to confirm it because I believed it of Stefan and Damon, but wasn't sure I believe it of you. Go ahead," he tells her motioning to the hand that she still has a hold of by his wrist.

For a moment her gaze flickers between his hand and his face before she finally gives in and begins to lap the blood up before sucking on it. An intense wave of pain and pleasure shoots through his body, causing him to groan. Before he knows what's happening his aunt is entering the house and he is greeting her, his hand behind his back. She tells him to clean up after himself and goes to bed, when he turns back around Ana is nowhere in sight. Sighing, he cleans up and goes up to his room to think about what he had learned.

A little bit later he hears Elena in the bathroom and steps in the open door, "how was your night?" she asks as she brushes her teeth.

"Same old, same old, you?" he replies.

She pauses brushing her teeth for a moment to answer, "yep."

He lifts his tooth brush and the two of them brush their teeth in silence. Right before they go their separate ways he glances at her and informs her, "I confronted Ana about being a vampire tonight. I was hoping you guys were wrong, but you weren't."

Elena gives him a hug, asking if he wants to talk about it. He shakes his head no and hugs her back saying goodnight. She returns to her room while he finishes his needs in the bathroom.

When he opens the door to his bedroom, he exclaims, "what the hell!" softly as he spots Ana standing by his window.

"I could have killed you," she declares, her voice seething with emotion.

He closes his door behind him as he steps into the room, light heartedly he replies, "yeah, but you didn't."

She gives a shake of her hair, "I should have," her voice is more controlled now.

He takes another step towards her, "but you didn't," he repeats, still walking.

Confused she demands, "How did you know?"

"Elena and Damon told me, about the Salvatore brothers and the fact they are vampires, about this girl I used to know named Vicki who became a vampire and is now dead, and about you. I didn't want to believe it but I saw your face and how it changed that night in the cemetery when I kissed you." His voice trails off as he watches her reaction.

She glances towards Elena's room, "you know you can't tell anyone else right?"

Smiling slightly, he gives a soft shake of his head, "no, who would believe me." His gaze is still locked onto her face.

The emotion fills her face as she replies, "You'd be surprised."

For a moment she just stares at him, when he inquires, "Why didn't you kill me?" she looks away before looking back at him.

She gives a small shake of her head, answering honestly, "I don't know. Maybe I am a sucker for guys like you."

Curious he asks, "Like what?"

"Lost," she responds, then her voice gets hard as she demands, "why would you confront me about it? Why would you risk it?"

His voice chokes up, "because if it was true, then that means Vicki is dead and also because I want you to turn me."

She can do nothing more than stare at him in shock, that was obviously not the answer that she was expecting.


	21. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV  
First thing in the morning, as he and Stefan are placing sheet wood over where the window used to be Elena pulls up. Smiling, she comes inside and greets both him and Stefan which he can tell annoys Stefan to no end. Stefan stops working on the window in order to explain what had happened the night before while he continues to nail it in place.

As he puts the last nail into it, he comments, "I saw we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate he ape that attacked us last night."

"Yeah?" Stefan replies, "and then what, we turn to the rest of the house of vampires and say 'oops'. Sorry."

Elena glances between them before commenting, "I can't believe you would make a deal with her."

Walking over to her, he glances down at her face answering, "it was more like a helpful exchange of information. It's not like I had a choice, she's," he pauses, thinking about what the right word for the situation would be, "scary."

For a moment nobody says anything but eventually Elena sighs aggravated. "What has you snarky?" Damon asks as he sits down on the divan, playing with the hammer.

Elena glances at him responding still snarky, "I woke up this morning to learn that there are tomb vampires out, I think I deserve to be snarky." She gives him a scowl, tilting her head to the side.

Stefan looks between the two of them commenting, "This isn't being very productive. We're going to figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires, yeah?"

Damon stands up glancing at Stefan, "I called Victoria to come ward the house. She'll be here later today or tomorrow morning." He doesn't say anything else as he leaves the room. He can hear them discussing it, and tends to agree with Stefan that Elena should stay out of it. They can deal with it accordingly, though he really wished he knew why the tomb had let those particular vampires out.

He hears Elena leave and after a while Damon gets to work on a large clock on the wall, repairing it from the damage done the previous night. Stefan comes walking by wearing his jacket and heading towards the door.

"Hunting party?" he inquires as he continues to work.

Stefan walks right on by him, replying, "that guy did a number on me last night when he stabbed me, I gotta get my strength back up."

For a moment he pauses what he is doing, glancing at Stefan's retreating back, "there is two litters of soccer mom in the fridge," he offers, his tone only mildly sarcastic. When Stefan turns and gives him a look he queries, "No?"

Looking down at the floor, Stefan shoves his hands in his pockets answering, "talk when I get back," before turning and heading towards the door again.

He just goes back to what he is doing, saying, "Alright, give my regards to the squirrels." Almost immediately after Stefan leaves he has the clock done."

A while later he notices how long Stefan has been gone and tries to reach him by phone, when that does not work, he tries Elena who is not picking up her phone for some reason so he heads over to her house. Shortly after calling her for the fifth time with no answer, he knocks on the door. She comes and answers the door, startled to see him.

"Something wrong?" she inquires, they had a closer relationship now than they used to, frowning she grabs her phone and realizes that it was muted, "sorry, my phone was muted, what's wrong?"

He walks into the house, glancing at her, "I was wondering why you were ignoring me, is Stefan here?"

She shakes her head no, and waits for him to answer her earlier question.

Damon glances at his phone then her, answering, "He was out in the woods and didn't come back, I cannot get him on his phone. I thought he was here with you. Maybe you two had gotten back together and not mentioned it after that little date yesterday."

Frowning, she shakes her head no again, dialing Stefan's number. When it goes straight to voice mail she looks at him, her face full of concern. "No we didn't get back together though he did try, but that's odd. Where could he be?"

Damon looks her dead in the face. "You're not going to like what I am thinking," his expression is serious.

He quickly covers what he thinks happened and tells Elena to wait for him to get back. She refuses to stay at the house so she rides with him in the Camaro. He is going to confirm whether he is right or not by going to the farm house. When he gets there, he pounds on the door, and demands entry. It's the vampire who attacked them the previous night who answers the door. For a moment they have a heated discussion before he realizes that he cannot enter the house and Frederick compels the owner of the house that she can never let him in.

Moments later he is back by his car where Elena is waiting fretfully, even though they are no longer dating, they are still friends and she is worried. For a moment Elena wants to try and get in, but Damon stops her. They discuss why they want him, and come up with a plan get him out by going to Alaric. The two of them drive over to the school to speak with him.

When Damon first sees Alaric he sarcastically comments, "Oh don't you look alive," as he smirks knowing he is irritating Alaric, some habits are just hard to break.

Alaric stops where he is at, telling him, "you can't hurt me."

His smirk grows as he takes a step forward, "oh I can hurt you alright."

For a moment the two men approach each other, like two predators getting ready to fight but Elena breaks it up by stepping up behind Damon and saying, "Mr. Saltzman, we need your help."

The three of them head into Alaric's classroom to discuss the situation. After Elena quickly summarizes what's going on she tells him, "Damon's a vampire, we can't get in. We need you. I would go but…"

She doesn't get to finish that sentence because Damon breaks into it, "but your life is valuable." He pauses for a moment to glance at Alaric, "yours on the other hands…"

This time it is Elena who breaks into the sentence, "Stefan told me about your ring."

Alaric sits at his desk looking straight at Elena and trying not to look at Damon, "what about it?"

"Let me recap," he comments from his seat in the window, his tone full of sarcasm. "You tried to kill me, I defend myself, you died, and according to my brother your ring brought you back to life." He pauses for a second to wrinkle his nose, inquiring "Am I leaving anything out?"

Alaric stands up, answering, "Yeah the part where I try to kill you again only this time I don't miss."

Elena steps in front of him pleading, "Mr. Saltzman, please it's Stefan."

He stares at her for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I'm sorry Elena, it's not my problem."

From his spot in the window Damon pipes up with, "It's a shame, because the woman in charge of the crowd could find your wife," he's lying because he has no clue if Pearl could or not and does not plan on asking.

"You're lying," Alaric accuses him looking directly at him as he stands up and walks towards them. Elena has turned to face him as well.

As he stops next to Elena he replies, "Am I?" he pauses for a moment, "why don't you ask her for yourself? Coward. Come on Elena," she glances at him, and the two of them turn and walk towards the door while Alaric plays with his ring.

They are just about out it when Alaric gives in, "Alright, I'll go."

Both Elena and Damon turn to face him, he is standing there was a lost and mournful expression on his face. Damon keeps his expression neutral but inside he is smirking up a storm. He had played a bluff and Alaric had not called it. How predictable, of course he would have to explain to Elena why he did it later, but that would be after his idiot brother was home.

Once he has agreed to help them, he digs out his kit and they discuss the plan. It involves Alaric getting into the house and getting the woman to let him in, and then Damon will sneak in, retrieve Stefan and sneak out. Elena wants to help but Damon does not want her near the house for her protection, Alaric is staying out of it for the most part. Eventually he agrees to let her drive the car but he does not want her near the house since she is not immortal, not trained, and not able to get in and out without being heard. Eventually Alaric comments that if they are going to go, they should get going.

The three of them head to the house, where Alaric tricks them into letting him in. As soon as one of the vampires shows him the phone, it goes to attack him and he stakes him. Mrs. Gibbons who is standing there is shocked and doesn't know how to respond. Alaric opens the back door, showing her Damon but she will not let him in because of the compulsion, Damon has him shove her out the door and inquires whether she has anyone in the world. When she replies there is no one, she snaps her neck in a single motion. She's dead before she can even take a breath.

Horrified, Alaric stares at him as he steps into the house, grabbing his arm Alaric growls at him quietly, "you were supposed to compel her!"

Damon looks up at him, whispering back harshly, "it doesn't work that way." His ears are listening to the sounds of the other vampires.

"She's human!"

He glares at Alaric, snarling, "And I'm not. So I don't care. Now get out of here. Get rid of the body."

Alaric takes off out the door, while Damon softly shuts the door. A few moments later another vampire enters the room and he surprises him, killing him as well. As he quickly searches the house he finds the inside entrance to the basement and goes down it, just as he gets to the bottom, the vampire there notices something and he kills him just in time to save Elena.

"Are you insane?" he demands.

Seconds later they find Stefan, hanging from the ceiling with another vampire in the room. Damon glances at her and asks if she can get him to the car. She replies that she can and Damon goes to distract the remaining vampires while Elena and Stefan escape. For a few minutes there is fighting between Damon and Frederick until a couple of other vampires interferes, just as one of them goes to kill him, the vampire falls over dead, Alaric had shot him. He tells Alaric that he is going after Frederick.

He searches the house and doesn't find Frederick so he tells Alaric it's time for them to go but when they go to leave there is several more vampires approaching the house.

"So what you said to get me to do this about my wife, it was a lie wasn't it?" Alaric demands as he watches the door.

"Yep," he replies.

Before Alaric can say anything else they can hear Pearl demanding to know what's going on. He confronts her about the fact that her vampires attacked, kidnapped, and tortured his brother. So they came and got him out, Pearl apologizes to him and the two men leave. By the time they get back to the car Stefan is back on his feet, Frederick is dead on the ground, and Elena seems to be in shock.

When they get back to the town, Elena and Stefan go to her house, Alaric goes to the school for a bit before going to the Grill and Damon meets him there.

"That was fun," he comments as he sits down next to Alaric at the bar. Alaric gives him a nasty look snorting, and he continues, "Oh don't look at me like that, I know you hate me, guess what almost everyone hates me." He tells him in a stage whisper, he pauses for a moment before going on, "but you can't deny, we were bad ass."

Alaric just hums in the back of his throat before standing up and slugging him in the jaw with a nasty right hook.

He stretches his jaw for a moment and mutters, "it happens" as Alaric walks out of the bar and he downs his drink.


	22. Chapter 21

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV  
When he got home from the bar the sight that greeted him was of Stefan sitting on the floor surrounded by empty bags of blood. A look similar to deer-in-headlights is on his blood stained face as he pauses momentarily from drinking the next one. It appears that Stefan is going through a relapse of no control which makes Damon want to scream, what type of vampire has such poor control over his need for blood?

It is early morning when he hears the familiar rumble of the girl's cars racing up the driveway. Both come to a stop at the same time and he walks out on the porch to greet them, knowing that he should probably 'formally' invite them into whatever is going on. As he stands there, Necessity is the first one out of her vehicle, and she reaches in to grab a bag as she stands up. When Victoria gets out she flashes a grin, and snaps her fingers holding her hand out. A small travelling bag shoots to her hand and she turns towards him.

Where last time the girls were a reflection of opposites, this time there is nothing special about their mode of dress or style. Unless of course you count the fact they matched their cars for coloring with Victoria being in vibrant reds and Necessity being in cool blues.

"Greetings Uncle," they say in unison as they stop on the porch directly in front of him.

He smiles at them, "Greets Victoria, Necessity. I was just thinking I should probably formally invite you to do your thing but I realize I have no clue what the formal request is." His voice is rougher than normal due to the long night and the fact he needed to feed.

It is Necessity who answers, "the general request is done something along the lines of 'I request your assistance' along with the person you addressing title if they have one."

He nods, and looks between the two of them before repeating, "I request your assistance," he pauses for a moment, then continues, "Havoc?"

Victoria gives a small nod and smile, replying formally, "Your request is accepted, Uncle, my assistance and those whom work with me shall do as we may within our Code." Once she is done with the formal response she grins, telling him, "Great! Now I can call Law and Order, then we can really get a good ward on this house, it will be the safest place in this part of Virginia! Perhaps you should have Elena invite Bonnie and Shelia over tomorrow, they will be interested in what we are going to do."

Both girls give him quick hugs after the formal greeting is done, and Necessity inquires, "How have things been? I have not been scrying to keep track because she said we were coming for a visit."

Hugging them back, he gives them a brief run down on everything that had happened since their visit the previous year. Both girls listen attentively, though Victoria keeps watching Stefan with an odd expression on her face. He just figures that she is watching the future as well. When he is done telling them about what's going on he makes a quick phone call to Elena.

"Hey," he greets her as she answers her phone, "can you ask Bonnie and Shelia to come over to the boardinghouse tomorrow morning? The girls are here and are planning on casting a spell they think they'd be interested in seeing."

"I can do that," she replies before asking, "How's Stefan? He seemed broken last night."

Damon glances over at his brother who is sitting on the floor still surrounded by blood bags. "Broken is a good word for it. I think that he may be having a problem."

On the other end he can hear her mumbling about it being her fault which he promptly interrupts to reassure her it is not. The rest of their conversation goes quickly with her promising to call Bonnie as soon as she's off the phone with him. They say there farewells and both hang up, "Well she will tell them, though there is no promise that they will come, Bonnie has been avoiding her since the tomb occurred."

Victoria nods, "I know, I also know they will come just because what we do is different and they are curious. It will lay the way for an option not yet realized at this time." She shrugs delicately, "personally, I hope that option comes to pass but we shall see."

The rest of the day for them is spent in relaxing catching up, even Stefan seems to be distracted enough to not keep downing blood.

Elena's POV  
When she got off of the phone with Damon she realized that calling Bonnie was probably not the best option, since she had been avoiding her for the most part over the last couple of weeks. Instead she tells Jenna she's going over to Bonnie's and drives over there. When she gets there, she knocks on the door and it is Shelia who answers.

"Hello Elena, what can I do for you? Bonnie isn't here right now." She tells her as she opens the door and motions her in.

Elena steps into the house replying, "I figured she wasn't, she has been avoiding me since what happened at the tomb. I stopped by because I was asked to invite you two over to the boardinghouse tomorrow morning, Victoria and Necessity are in town to do some casting, it was figured you might want to watch it since you had shown an interest in their magic the last time they were here."

Shelia nods as she listens, it is easy to see that she is interested in the magic that they would be doing. She also knows why Bonnie has been avoiding her friend and explains it to Elena over a cup of hot tea. For a little bit the two women talk to each other about magic, vampires, school, and life in general. Elena is amazed at how easily she gets along with Bonnie's grandmother now that she knows that she is a witch.

She is just about ready to leave when Bonnie comes in, asking why Elena is there. Her grandmother responds that she is forwarding an invitation that she feels they should accept. It is time for Bonnie to start embracing her heritage and learning what she can. Bonnie seems unhappy about it but agrees because it is what her grandmother wants and Elena leaves, heading over to the boardinghouse to tell them in person.

When she gets there the first thing she spots is the two matching sports cars in the driveway. Before she has a chance to go in, Damon meets her on the porch.

Smirking, he tells her, "normally I would love to have you see Stefan fall from grace but I am hoping he has a bit of control by morning and right now he is a bit unstable so I am going to have to ask you to come back tomorrow. I swear I will tell you if anything happens of interest between now and then."

Taken back she looks at him hard, "oh, I didn't realize he was that bad."

He nods replying, "It's going to get worse before it gets better."

She glances at the door and sighs, "well, so you know they found Vicki's remains last night. Matt is pretty shocked and I think it finally hit home with Jeremy, I mean we told him almost a month ago but I don't think it sunk in until they found her."

He nods, "do you need a hand with him? Both girls are here so I could come over if you need."

She gives a small shake of her head, "no, I think we will be good. I just thought I should tell you."

She nods and bids him farewell before heading home to spend time writing in her journal, she has a lot to catch up on. Like the last time she had gotten her new journal out her mind whirls rapidly, with details and conclusions coming faster than she could write.

The first thing that she covered was the fact that Damon had told about Isobel and changing her as soon as he realized that the same Isobel who was Alaric's wife was also Elena's mother. He had done so in such a sincere way, that she could not help smiling at the bittersweet memory. Of course that same night he had almost killed Alaric when he had attacked Damon, but she really could not hold that against him. Then there was the fact that Damon was determined to protect her at all costs, she knew that just months prior that would not have been how he acted. Pausing in her writing, she stared out her window.

Perhaps, her mind swirled with the different details, actions, and behaviors. Perhaps the reason there seems to be a change is he was falling in love with her. As the fact of that clicked into place within her mind she could do nothing but sit there in shock. She wasn't sure how she felt about that and still did not want to examine her feelings for the older Salvatore brother too closely.

With a shake of her head she went back to writing, moving on from the dangerous topic of Damon she moved on to the frustrating topic of Stefan. She wanted to continue to be his friend but refused to date him again. There was no chemistry, no passion, nothing to make them compatible as more than friends, though there were times there wasn't even a real friendship there either. She was worried about the fact he seems to be having a bad reaction to the human blood. She only hoped he would feel better sooner than later because that's what friends do.

Bonnie was third on her list of things to consider, in recent weeks since the tomb was breached Bonnie had been avoiding her. All she wanted to know was why, perhaps tomorrow at the boardinghouse she will finally talk with me, she thought as she wrote her notes out. Maybe she is a bit overwhelmed.

Giving a shake of her head, she moved on to her next topic, Caroline. Right now Caroline is depressed and nervous as all hell. Her boyfriend whom she has strong feelings for has rejected her comfort over his sister's death. Her life with her parents was stressful enough, then you add her fears, worries, and jealousy about her relationship with Matt and Caroline was just about at her breaking point. She was determined that she was going to spend more time with Caroline doing girl stuff.

Jeremy, she thought sighing, she wasn't sure what to write about everything happening with him lately. She had talked to him about the vampires, being adopted, Vicki, and Ana. At times he seems almost like his old self, at other times he seems like he is on the edge of a vast cliff and getting ready to intentionally fall, not quite jump but not try to keep his balance. Of all the people she was worried about, he was the one who concerned her most.

She had just set her spelled journal down when she heard a knock on her bedroom door, glancing up she spotted Jeremy standing there. "Hey, can we talk?" he asks hesitantly, fidgeting from one side to the other on his feet.

She nods, replying, "of course, come in, ummm, what would you like to talk about?"

He comes in after a moment, perching in the same spot Damon normally did in the window. "Ana. Me. Becoming a vampire." he shook his head as if to clear it, "I would like to know what you think of me becoming a vampire and having Ana be the one to change me."

Startled her head jerks up and she stares at his face, he is avidly looking everywhere but at her. "I…" she begins but trails off, it is her turn to shake her head, "if that is what you want then I will support your choice, however I have to ask that you wait until summer break so you have the summer to get used to being a vampire without missing a lot of school and driving Jenna insane." She looks at him expectantly, waiting to see what his answer is.

Frowning, he thinks about it a moment before he finally nods, "that makes sense, I had not thought about it like that. Thanks Elena," he replies as he comes over to give her a hug before leaving her room.

Sighing, she goes down stairs to see if there is anything that Jenna needs done around the house or if she wants to do anything. For a while they just hang out before Alaric comes over and she excuses herself upstairs so the two adults can have their privacy. She's not ready to talk to him yet. The rest of the day seems to go in a blur between writing, spending time with Jeremy as he drifts in and out of her room, and working on her exercising as a way to reign in her thoughts.

Bonnie's POV  
That night as she stares out her window of her Gran's house bedroom window, she is trying to figure out whether she should just break things off with Elena or not. According to her Gran, she needs to stop hiding and embrace who she is. That means learning about magic and all of the supernatural creatures out there. A large part of her is mad at Elena for bringing her into this situation but the logical part of her mind realizes that she would have been pulled in even if Elena had not been involved. Perhaps, then, it is not fair to blame Elena for what has recently happened.

Since the night the tomb seal was changed she had been having an internal debate about whether she believed that girl when she said that things could have been far different. Something in her tone implied she knew a great deal more than she said, maybe tomorrow she could talk to her, possibly learn from her. Shaking her head she gets ready for bed, according to her Gran it will probably be a long day because ward casting is not easy.

Damon's POV  
Morning does not seem to come soon enough at times. Despite his need for sleep he cannot seem to get there. His mind keeps going back to earlier in the night when Stefan had went into his room and Necessity had followed him up stairs warding him in without even asking. When he had asked her why she had glanced at him as if he was goofy than walked away to the room she was staying in while there. It had been Victoria who had explained that a vampire was strong on human blood, their blood was far more potent and she had not wanted to worry about the controlless vampire doing something stupid during the night, shrugging, she had continued to tell him she would have done the same thing had Necessity not.

By the time dawn rolled around he was up and in the kitchen cooking, in the past Victoria had said the bigger the spell the more energy it took, the more food she would want. Smirking to himself, he makes enough for the girls, himself, Stefan, and several other people since he is not sure who else is joining them. Shortly after he gets everything done the girls come downstairs, with Stefan not far behind though he seems to be really pissed about being locked in his room all night.

"Think of it this way," Necessity tells him as she takes a seat, "I could have locked you in a brick of ice until you learn control. Would you have preferred that since there is no set time limit on it?" she pauses for a moment to take a bite of a piece of bacon before glancing at Damon and thanking him for the food.

Victoria turns her head towards the door, "ah, the twins are here, Elena, Bonnie, Shelia, and Jeremy are nearly here as well."

She stands, glancing at Damon, "may I invite them in uncle?"

He nods, continuing to eat. Stefan has stopped grumbling though he still looks discouraged, while Necessity is eating her breakfast in silence now. A few minutes later, Victoria returns, a young man and woman with her, along with Elena and that group as well. He can tell that Bonnie is uncomfortable, yet she is still there.

When everybody is seated at the table, Victoria motions to the two sitting to her left. "This is Hemera Order and Nyx Law Sorbier. Hemera, Nyx, these are Uncle Damon, Cousin Stefan, Mistress Shelia, Miss Bonnie, Sambandha Elena, and her brother Jeremy." She introduces everyone, as she names them off, she motions towards them. Smiling, she says, "well technically they have a different middle name but I use the translated title version myself. Since it is how they are addressed during casting."

Damon glances at her curiously, he is wondering why she introduced each person the way she did. She gave him the respect of a title, but not Stefan. She also used titles for Shelia and Elena but not Bonnie and Jeremy, though he does not know what the title she used with Elena is. The room is silent as everyone eats.

Eventually Bonnie breaks the silence by inquiring, "I have to know, who cooked cause this food is awesome."

Damon smirks, "I did."

Bonnie just stares at him shocked before falling silent again while both Elena and Jeremy chuckle, they had been eating Damon's food for a while now, it was far better than there aunts and what Elena did know how to make.

After a bit, when everyone was done, Herema glances at Damon asking politely, "will you be bothered if I clean up the fast way?"

He shrugs, he's not sure what the fast way is but he is sure its not going to bother him. She nods back, before muttering under her breath and snapping her fingers. The next thing he knows all the dishes and food vanishes, startled he looks around. Victoria is trying not to chuckle, while Necessity is shaking her head, and Nyx is just rolling his eyes.

"What?" Herema demands, "I asked, he agreed, I dealt with it. It is going to be a long enough day without adding chores to it. Besides," she shrugs, "I am Order, I like things organized."

The four of them stand up at the same time, Victoria commenting, "we are going to set up in the front yard, I am also going to place a teleportation ring if you do not mind, that way it will be faster moving between here and home."

Again he shrugs, "who all can use it?"

She smiles, a deadly smile, "only those who have the key and I plan to make very few of those. I'll make five of them for now, one for myself, Necessity, and the twins, then give you the other two."

Raising an eyebrow, he inquires, "what's that particular smile about?"

It is Herema who answers, "Havoc wields the bloodline flame, any who try to use it without the key will find themselves burned from the inside out or trapped within a ball of fire, suspended in time until she feels like checking them depending on why and who is trying to use it without the key. It will also keep witches and other supernatural creatures from being able to flash into the property, for they too will be caught."

He cannot help but chuckle at the way she words that. It sounds as if it will be a nasty trap.

The four head outside with Bonnie and Shelia close behind them. Elena stops to speak with Stefan who is now pouting, while Jeremy goes into the library and sits on the couch in front of the fireplace just watching the flames.


	23. Chapter 22

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_On a random note, has anyone else ever thought that the songs Unforgiven and Unforgiven II by Metallica would make great songs for Damon?_

_Reviews please people, what do you think?_

Victoria's POV  
There are time I do not think that people realize that magic is a living entity, it is part of the Eight that formed us and all of creation. We can use the magic if we ask, but we must ask politely if we ever wish to have true power. She thinks reflectively as she strides through her uncles' house and outside. Some may have access to minor abilities without asking, but they will never reach their full power without learning to be polite. In time Shelia will help to set right a mistake made by her ancestress. Whether Bonnie will understand it or not is a different matter. At this time she is just on the edge of discovery, her mind still filled with the incorrect knowledge created by those who lack any of the gifts, with only a little of what is true knowledge to be known.

Frowning, she glances at her sister for a moment before continuing to her car in order to grab her casting supplies. Despite the fact they will be casting together, each will use the supplies that work best for them. With a shake of her head she returns to her previous thoughts. Perhaps I need to train Shelia while she lives, and she can pass the training on to Bonnie, however it is wise that Bonnie receive the beginnings sooner than later. When we are done casting I will approach her about this.

With the matter closed within her mind, she turns her attention to the next matter, where the best place to cast from. For a moment she allows her vision to cloud so that she can See clearly where the lay-lines are. Following her Sight, she moves to stand on the edge of the property near the river at the back. Blinking, she returns to her normal vision before turning to the others.

"This is the best place for anchoring. It has three different lay-lines, a node, and a sink-line." She tells them as she takes the eastern point. Necessity, Herema, and Nyx all nod, each taking their respective points, while Bonnie and Shelia observe their actions.

Bonnie's POV  
The four of them are setting out small collections of items. All four had what appeared to be matching platinum bowels. However past that their items varied. Victoria's consisted of four large red-tone gemstones and a deep red cloth with gold, orange, bronze, and brass embroidery runes. Necessity's collection had a pale blue cloth with green, gray, white, and other shades of blue embroidery runes, a coquina shell, a small vial full of water, a deep blue gemstone, and a piece of coral. Herema's items included a rich moss green cloth with browns, yellows, and other shades of green embroidery runes, a tiny jar with a seed in it, a vibrant piece of amber, a small bone, and a little vial of what appeared to be white sand in it. Nyx's set up included a dark purple cloth with silver, gold, white embroidery runes, and four different colored gemstones.

She was trying to figure out what the items were for when her Gran inquires, "What are those?" referring to the kits that each of them use.

Necessity continues to set hers up and replies in her teaching mode, "These are mage kits, though different than those that your kind of practitioner's use. Each is designed for the person who uses them and is in tune with that person. Only part of the kit is ever used at one time. For instance, the element I am closest to is water, thus my kit calls upon the south, water, cold, and the forces of chaos that align with it." she glances up studying her closely for a moment, before commenting, "you are both fires, though it is a minor fire, it is still there in your blood."

As she finishes placing her small collection of power items, she straightens up and speaks again, "Havoc is a fire, thus her kit ties her to the east, fire, heat, and the forces of havoc. Order is earth, thus her kit ties her to the west, earth, growth, and the forces of order that align with it. Law is wind, thus his kit ties him to the north, weather, electricity, and the forces of law that align with it. He is the only male in seven generations to be born tied directly to order in the Septies lines."

Bonnie hesitantly asks, "What are the cloths for?"

Necessity smiles, answering, "Instead of having to etch out the holy runes and symbols of the elements every time, we each use a rune mat instead that is covered in the runes that we would normally use. Each mat is based on personal preference, however they are not only the runes of the primary element. They also contain runes to recognize the other elements as well so that the castor may use any as needed, while maintaining their connection to their base element."

When Necessity finishes speaking, Victoria takes her place standing patiently, "are we ready? This will take a while because it is a big property and I tend to have the entire of if warded before we are done."

The three nods, with Necessity directing Bonnie and Shelia to stand behind Victoria, that way their natural power inclination will not interrupt the flow.

Victoria raises her hands so they are flat in front of her palms directed towards Hemera, as she does so the other three mimic so that Hemera's palms face Victoria, while Necessity and Nyx face each other palm first. At the same time they speak, "Hama kahatē haiṁ baṛōṁ kō."

The small bowels that each has situated in front of them light up an iridescent white-tone, each floating into the air level with the middle of their palms.

Victoria continues, her voice soft but firm, "Kahara. Āga, tabāhī, pitā, dōsta. Maiṁ āpa sē apanē surakṣātmaka prakāśa kī talāśa. Ā'ō, maiṁ kŏla."

Hemera begins almost before Victoria is done, her voice rich like ringing bells, "Bhūmi. Pr̥thvī, krama, mām̐, gā'iḍa. Maiṁ āpa sē apanē pōṣaṇa vikāsa cāhatē haiṁ. Ā'ō, maiṁ kŏla."

On Herema's last word, Nyx's low, rumbling voice chants, "Vāyu. Pavana, kānūna, pitā, caukīdāra. Maiṁ āpa sē apanē sthāyī sānsa līji'ē. Ā'ō, maiṁ kŏla."

Necessity's high voice reverberate on his last word, "Tālāba. Jala, arājakatā, mām̐, ārōgya. Maiṁ āpa sē apanē sukhadāyaka sparśa karanā cāhatē haiṁ. Ā'ō, maiṁ kŏla."

As Necessity finishes chanting the light in each bowel changes colors to match the mats that they are hovering above. All four move their hands from palms out to palms facing towards the bowel. In that moment the world seems to hold still, nothing can be heard anywhere around them.

The silence is broken when Necessity and Herema begin to chant together, "Hama āpakē anugraha talāśa mātā'ōṁ, ā." At the end of the sentence, the light flares up encircling them in a glow.

Victoria and Nyx speak next, "Hama apanī tākata kī talāśa pitā, ā." Upon finishing they are also surrounded by a glow. For a time none speak, instead they hold their bodies perfectly still as the glow spreads around them, touching and blending the edges. The light seems to seep from within them, encasing them.

Then, as the light flares up Victoria and Necessity break the silence, their voices ringing out, "Atīta aura vartamāna, ānē kē li'ē bhaviṣya. Samaya kī ḍārka balōṁ hama āpakō cāhatē haiṁ."

A breath later Herema and Nyx are chanting as well so their voice overlaps each other, "Jīvana kē jñāta aura ajñāta, rahasya. Arājakatā kī halkī balōṁ hama tumhēṁ cāhatē haiṁ."

Again there is a pause as the light changes, blurring and melding, flaring and dimming, it spreads out and as it passes through Bonnie a shiver goes down her spine as if she was being judged by an unseen force. Everything within sight seems to be glowing now, as she glances behind her at the house, she is surprised to see that even it is covered in the glowing mist.

When Victoria gives a sharp nod, the four begin to chant as one, their voices blending seamlessly.

"Hama āpakē pūrvajōṁ kī talāśa hai.  
Satya kī ēka ḍhāla, jindā hai aura kiyā jā rahā hai.  
Ā'ō, hama āpa sē pūchanā.  
Nukasāna pahum̐cānē kī talāśa hai jō saba mēṁ bādhā.  
Ā'ō, hama āpa sē pūchanā.  
Apanē vārḍa kē bhītara una lōgōṁ kō surakṣita rakhēṁ.  
Ā'ō, hama āpa sē pūchanā.  
Apanē upahāra sē inakāra karatē haiṁ ki kisī bhī pīchē haṭānā.  
Ā'ō, hama āpa sē pūchanā.  
Kahara. Bhūmi. Vāyu.Tālāba.  
Pūrvajōṁ hama kahatē haiṁ."

Their voices grow in power, though not in loudness as the energy cackles around them, each glowing from within, their bowels full of light that to look directly at would be blinding. On their last words, they slowly lower their hands to their sides, palms facing out seeking. For a time nobody says or does anything, then the bowels suddenly fall to the mats that they had arisen from.

Herema and Nyx seem to be shaken, their body's trembling, while Victoria and Necessity seem to not be affected at all.

Victoria in tones formally, "my gratitude Order, Law, your assistance was appreciated. It was a success."

Both give a slight bow, but Herema nearly falls over causing Victoria to catch her. Bonnie give a shake of her head, she hadn't seen Victoria move so how did she cover that five foot distance so quickly?

"Our acceptance, Havoc." They reply once Herema is straight again.

Smiling, Victoria says, "now that the formalities are done, why don't you two go freshen up? I know you do not cast magic like that very often, even though we were using the lay-lines, node, and sink-line I am sure your body is feeling the effects of so much power about now."

Before they can answer Necessity comments, "I will pack the kits up, I am not tied so tightly to water that it will interfere with your kits strength."

The two of them nod in response and head into the house, both are moving slower than they had earlier. When Victoria turns and looks at Bonnie, her eyes are so electric bright of blue they seem to have no pupil.

"What did you think?" she inquires as she carefully packs Necessity's kit, leaving hers out while Necessity packs Hemera and Nyx's kits.

Bonnie is not sure what to say, it had been incredible, the feeling, the power, the raw energy that she had felt being directed. She could still feel a slight hum down her spine but that moment when she had felt as if she was being judged she had felt a terror deep in her soul that she would not be worthy and she did not understand why. She gives a shake of her head murmuring in response, "I cannot describe the feeling, it just, wow. Are all of your castings like that?" She is trying to remember if the tomb had that type of power to it.

Her Gran is a bit more direct in her answer, "that was an impressive piece of magic for one so young, but I have a feeling that you could teach me far more than I could teach you. Was I mistaken, or did I feel the presence of the spirits?"

Necessity answers her, "you felt the primordials, we go directly to the top when we call for power like that. The spirits you felt are the first of those elements, the living embodiments of them. They rarely manifest in physical form but they do allow some of the lines to use their power. We are fortunate that we are among that number."

Her Gran nods seriously before turning to look at her, "we should get going Bonnie, I think that we have a lot to reflect on." Pausing, she looks at Victoria and Necessity, "thank you for allowing us to observe, perhaps we could sit down and discuss this form of magic someday soon?"

Victoria smiles inclining her head, her eyes are fading back to their normal shade of blue, "you are welcome Mistress Shelia, and I would be greatly pleasured to do so."

With that, Gran puts her hand on her shoulder and directs her back to their vehicle. When they get into it, she turns to look at her asking, "Gran, was that really different from our magic? It seemed so, focused, controlled, as if someone other than them was casting as well."

As her Gran drove away she thought about how she wanted to reply before saying, "Bonnie, those girls and that young man were not asking the spirits for power the way we do, they were asking the gods for it. I am very surprised that they received it because I have never heard of any witch or warlock being able to cast like that. It was real, oh yes it was, but I am curious how they can cast in a way that has been lost for generations with such easy."

Nothing else was said as they drove home. Both had a lot on their minds about what they had just seen that they needed to take the time to process.

_Hi everyone, for those that are curious here is the translations to the spell used to place the protective wards around the property._

_All__: To the elders we call.  
__Victoria__**:**__ Fire. Fire, havoc, father, friend. I seek from you your protective light. Come, I call.  
__Herema:__ Earth. Earth, order, mother, guide. I seek from you your nurturing growth. Come, I call.  
__Nyx__: Wind. Wind, law, father, watcher. I seek from you your enduring breath. Come, I call.  
__Necessity__: Water. Water, chaos, mother, healer. I seek from you your soothing touch. Come, I call.  
__Necessity & Herema__: Mothers we seek your grace, come.  
__Victoria & Nyx__: Fathers we seek your strength, come.  
__Victoria & Necessity__: Past and present, future to come. Dark forces of Time we seek you.  
__Herema & Nyx__: Known and unknown, mysteries of life. Light forces of Chaos we seek you.  
__All__: We seek you Ancestors.  
__A shield of truth, alive and being.  
__Come, we ask you.  
__Hinder all who seek to harm.  
__Come, we ask you.  
__Protect those within your wards.  
__Come, we ask you.  
__Repel any that deny your gift.  
__Come, we ask you.  
__Fire. Earth. Wind. Water  
__Ancestors we call._


	24. Chapter 23

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV  
After the six went outside, he glances over at Stefan who is staring far too hard at Elena's neck for his liking. A quick glance at Jeremy shows him that Jeremy feels the same way as he keeps his eyes locked on Stefan. Elena meanwhile seems to be oblivious, and is trying to ask him how he is doing but his focus seems to not allow him to answer. Eventually she sighs and comes over to where Damon is standing by the door.

Smiling at him, she greets him, "hey, thanks again for breakfast, as always it was awesome."

He looks down at her, smirking, "of course it was I cooked it," that was his common answer to her whenever she would praise his food. He didn't want to tell her why he enjoyed cooking so much for her. "You two heading home soon?" he inquires slightly pointedly.

She cocks her head to the side and looks at him for a moment before realizing why he is asking and nods once. "I think so, I just wanted to stop in and see how everything is going. Jeremy didn't want to be at home on his own so he tagged along. I'll see you later?"

He gives her a small smile and nod, "if you'd like."

Elena's returning smile is brilliant and full of joy, "I would." Turning around she calls out to Jeremy, "Come on Jer, let's get going, I think they have a lot to do."

Jeremy nods and stands up, but his eyes never leave Stefan as he joins Elena and Damon at the door, "have a good one," he tells him and they leave.

Damon glances over at Stefan whose face has converted to its vampire visage. As they hear the front door shut, Stefan uses his vampire speed to rush towards it as he loses control, however Damon who was expecting that catches him and slams him into the wall.

"Not Elena, not Jeremy," he growls at his brother, holding him in place. Before Stefan can reply both brothers become light headed and stagger towards the divan where they ungracefully sit down.

Shaking his head, Stefan moans, "What the hell is that?"

The pressure is still building up and the next thing he knows is he is blacking out.

When he wakes he knows that time has pasted he is just not sure how much, shaking his head he glances over to see that Stefan is still unconscious on the floor where he had slid off of the couch. Giving another shake of his head he rubs the back of his neck and waits. Not long afterwards Victoria comes into the library, humming softly as she walks.

"The wards are up," she tells him as she falls into her normal chair. "Necessity, Hemera, and Nyx are all taking a nap before we head out. It took a lot out of them." Glancing at him, her eyes narrow, "looks like it took a lot out of you too. Where you fighting or arguing?"

He gives a sharp nod, "yep. Stefan lost control and went to attack Jeremy and Elena as they left so I stopped him, then all of a sudden there was a sharp pain, and I was really light headed. We both sat down and then boom! I am waking up feeling like I have a hangover without ever drinking anything." He tells her in a serious voice.

She nods once, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmmm, well that explains a lot. The primordial's power placing the living barrier is what caused you to get light headed. It probably won't happen again because I keyed the house to yours, his, and Elena's protection. However as you are both predators, you will be affected if either of you consider harming her. Of course, other humans are fair game." She shrugs, "however, nobody else will be able to come onto the property if they mean you three any sort of harm."

The look on her face is much like that of the cat who had just eaten the bird. He decides that now is not the time to ask about that, because he is sure it is tied to something she has seen and that is always an iffy area of discussion. For a long while we just sit there in silence relaxing. The pain in his head is finally fading away but there are times he wishes that his senses weren't quite that good.

Before Stefan wakes, Victoria holds a small band of metal up and hands it to him, "Oh, by the way, here is the two keys for the jump-ring I put on the edge of the driveway. To use them, either walk or drive into the ring and think of the complex, and you'll be taken to my driveway, or if returning from the complex think of the boarding house and it will bring you back. They will automatically adjust to the size of your arm, or whoever else you allow to use it. If you are in a vehicle, then anyone in the vehicle with you will also be transported."

He nods that he understands, and tucks them into his pocket. He has a good idea where to put them to keep from having problems.

Again they fall silent. Eventually after a couple hours pass Stefan finally begins to wake up. Groaning, he asks, "What happened?"

Victoria quickly fills him in on the wards that surround the house and the property. "Also, because we warded the entire property that means you will not actually be able to see the threat up close, so we charmed the window closest to the door to act as a scrying mirror, if there is a threat you will see who it is and where along the edge of the property they are or were. The wards are living, created with elementals, so you could learn to converse with them or come up with methods of communication if you wanted to. For now though, I figured the window would be a good start. If someone comes in not meaning harm but changes their mind, the wards will activate and depending on which type of elemental is closest is what the reaction will be. I can tell you though they will not be successful." She glances between the two of them, "any questions?"

Both of them shake their heads no and she nods.

Minutes later Necessity comes wandering in, a glass of orange juice in her hand. "I forgot how draining portals are. Wards are easy, give me a portal and I'm going to need a nap right afterwards." She sighs, shaking her head and sits down.

Nobody feels like cooking, so once the others get up the four head into town in Necessity and Victoria's vehicles, Nyx is riding with Victoria, while Hemera is in the car with Necessity. Stefan decides staying home is a good idea because he is having a hard time control the bloodlust. While Damon stays home to keep an eye on Stefan.

Elena's POV  
Jenna had not felt like cooking dinner so she had suggested that they go to the Grill for dinner instead. Jokingly she asked, "Where's Damon when we need dinner and none of us want to cook?" as we had gotten into her car. Both Jeremy and Elena could do nothing more than chuckle at that.

Upon getting there, she was surprised to see that Matt was back to work so soon, and went over to see how he was doing. He was frustrated, depressed, and angry but determine to not fall into despair so he was going to try working as hard as he could and spending time with Caroline when he wasn't working.

When the familiar rumble of the girl's cars could be heard, she glanced out the window to see both of them pulling in and parking. Matt's eyes followed hers and got wide as saucers when he saw what they were driving.

Elena glance between him and the girls for a moment before asking, "would you like to meet them?"

He nodded, unable to respond because he was still in shock over their cars.

So, the two of them stepped outside for a moment just as Victoria, Necessity, Hemera, and Nyx were getting out of their vehicles.

She smiled, waving at the quartet. "Hello, Victoria, Necessity," she greeted the first two, pausing a moment she made sure she remembered the other two's names before going on, "Hemera and Nyx. This is Matt."

Hemera and Nyx mutter a greeting in response before excusing themselves to go inside, while Necessity and Victoria both smile at him.

"Good to meet you," Necessity replies, shaking his hand, for a moment her eyes seem brighter than normal but then she gives a small shake of her head. "You're probably wondering how two girls can have such lovely cars."

He just stares at her for a minute before chuckling. "That's true, you two seem pretty young to have 1968 Chevrolet Mako Sharks." He is walking around the cars, looking over each and every detail of them as only a car lover would.

Victoria chuckles deep in her throat, "that would be my doing, I am good with money and when we hit the million marker a piece, I decided I wanted to celebrate so we bought to trashed out cars and rebuilt them with the help of our father."

His head just jerked up with she said million, leaving him staring at her in shock. She shrugged, giving a smirk that was so much like Damon's they could have been twins. Matt noticing the resemblance for the first time inquires, "Are you related to the Salvatore brothers?"

Necessity nods, "they are cousins, distant relatives related several generations back."

He nods, giving Victoria one more look before going back to studying the cars. The two girls share a look, chuckling, and Elena can do nothing but shake her head as she watches this. When the bartender steps out the door to call Matt back in, he tells them thanks for letting him look at the car before getting back to work. She is just about ready to follow him, when Victoria puts a retraining hand on her arm lightly.

"I would suggest avoiding Stefan anywhere but his home for a few weeks, the wards are successful and you will be safe there, but his control is sorely lacking." She pauses for a moment, glancing at Necessity and raising an eyebrow. Necessity shrugs, heading in, "perhaps you should suggest to your friend to by stock market, I will make sure you get a list of good stocks to invest in once a month, as for why I would do this, consider it my thanks for looking past what everyone else sees."

Elena can do nothing more than nod as Victoria releases her arm and bids her to have a good dinner going inside. Giving a shake of her head, she follows her and joins Jenna and Jeremy at their table. Jenna glances at her, raising an eyebrow, "I don't know what you did, but that boy look far better now than he did."

Jeremy glances over and spots the quartet, he nods at them and then answers for her, "probably introduced him to Victoria and Necessity, you know how car crazy he is, well they have some really awesome cars."

Jenna chuckles, thinking he is joking. The rest of dinner goes smoothly, not much else happens. That night after she gets home she takes the time to write in her spelled journal for a while before going to bed.

_Two Weeks Later  
_Damon's POV  
The last few weeks had been frustrating, while typically he would be all for Stefan drinking blood, he was all for control and that was one thing that Stefan massively lacked. He had spent the last few weeks, drinking a lot, doing lots of exercising, and trying to find other ways to keep from going on a frenzy. He keeps denying that there is a problem but Damon knows otherwise. Maybe he can go back to his routine of visiting with Elena, Jenna, and Jeremy at night if there 'isn't' a problem.

A little later in the afternoon, he heads over to the meeting for the Founding Families to discuss the vampire situation. This includes the fact that Vicki Donovan's death was ruled an over dose, and an introduction of John Gilbert who informs the Founding Families that there are still vampires and there are still problems going on.

Elena's POV  
Morning is a busy time when one is trying to get to school and get their depressed brother to go as well. She is just about ready to leave when she opens the door to find her Uncle John standing on the porch. Trying to be polite she heads to school to avoid him.

When she gets there, she stops to check on Matt, and while they are chatting she mentions that her uncle is back. The two of them share a heartfelt moment of distaste. Neither of them likes him. As she is walking to class she is wondering if she should go see how Stefan is doing in person and visit with Damon.

At the end of the day, she stops to talk to Alaric and see how he is doing. He decides to show her a paper that Jeremy wrote about vampires. For a few moments they discuss the situation, eventually he asks, "So how do you deal with it?"

She shakes her head, "What do you mean?"

He shrugs, "All the lies and the secrets? Having to lie to everyone who is important to you."

For a few minutes she does not say anything, eventually, she sighs replying, "I don't both Jeremy and Jenna know about the vampires and witches in our town. Originally I thought that it would be safer if they didn't know, but then, after the pizza-guy incident I decided I had to tell them. So I did those were not easy days for me."

He just stares at her shocked that was not the answer he was expecting. Eventually, he stands up and walks around to the back of his desk, "I think Stefan is a good guy, but at the end of the day he is still a vampire."

Elena chuckles, "well I know it's hard to understand but I am friends with both of them, not just Stefan. They're different, I do not think they would do anything intentional to hurt me." Even as she says it the clarity is forcing her to realize that there has been several times where Stefan has intentionally hurt her, even while claiming that was not his goal. Damon on the other hand has been perfectly honest about whether he wants to hurt her or not and in recent months the answer has been not.

When she gets done visiting with him, she heads over to the boarding house to see Stefan and Damon. She's just not sure which one she wants to see more. Sighing to herself, she realizes that she is due to have another long session with her journal. She needs to figure out what is going on in her head before she does something totally stupid or makes a mistake that she doesn't want to make. For a while, she and Stefan visit until he turns the visit into flirting at which point she goes down stairs to visit with Damon instead.

The following morning, he comes over to the house to visit for a little bit, Elena drags him up to her room before her uncle can spot him and he sarcastically says, "ah, just like I remembered," with a smirk as he plops down on her bed, crossing his legs, and holding her teddy bear against his stomach.

She rolls her eyes at him, "stop messing around."

Putting a hand behind his head, he says, "well, did you know that your uncle has been kickin' it with the founders council."

"What?" she responds confused.

He rolls his eyes at her, "yep."

Giving a shake of her head, she replies, "perfect we will just add it to the growing list of concerns. I got the feeling last night that Stefan still is not himself."

Damon stands up and goes over to the dresser to snoop through it as he answers, "maybe his problem is he spent too long not being himself." He pauses for a moment as he keeps looking around, "it is what is Elena, the Stefan you know is good behavior Stefan. Reign it in Stefan, fight against his nature to an annoyingly obsessive level Stefan," he says rolling his eyes before refocusing on her face, "but if you think that there is not another part to this then you have not been paying attention."

She steps up close to him so they are only inches apart. Giving him a look, she takes the picture back that he had taken off of her mirror. His breath hits her face, and all he does is go "umm hmm," before walking down stairs to say hi to Jeremy before heading out. Normally his visits were longer, but she figured he had shorted this one up because o her uncle's visit.

Giving a shake of her head she gets out her journal and starts to write, as she does so, the familiar feeling of clarity strives through her body, making things far clearer than she really wanted on many subjects, however the subject that she wonders about the most is still frustratingly cloudy.

Damon's POV  
Later that night, as he dresses for the founder's party he realizes that this will be the first time Stefan has left the property since his self-induced lock down a few weeks earlier. He doesn't understand why he does not learn to control the blood lust rather than continue to act the way he is and takes an ungodly amount of pleasure in picking on him when they get there. Stefan comments that he is going to find Elena and Damon just wants to chuckle because he knows that Elena will probably not deal well with him bring stupid.

After a few minutes he finds Elena standing next to the bar while Stefan, who had just got the DJ to change the music selection, is dancing.

Being sarcastic, he smirks at her inquiring, "have I entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?"

She rolls her eyes at him, querying, "Is he going to be okay?"

He raises his eyebrows, replying, "Eventually," glancing at her he continues, "one way or another."

He gets a drink and takes a sip of it, while he is concerned about Stefan's behavior, he is not that concerned yet. So far he had managed to keep a semblance of control, of course that could be all the whiskey he was drinking too.

Eventually he wanders off and looks around until he comes across the sheriff standing off on her own. She looks like her nerves are on edge so he decides to play nice and comments, "Ah, you know I love a woman in uniform but I have to side with this look, you look, look," he pauses to consider what word to use, "you look smashing."

She chuckles nervously, replying, "Thank you, Damon." She sighs, "Cheers." After the two of them click their glass together she continues, "I needed that. You know I had my doubts about you at first. But like everyone else on the council you have won me over."

He gives her a small smile, looking down for a moment before answering, "Thanks Liz, it's really nice how welcoming the council has been, I like my life here in Mystic Falls, it's starting to feel like home again." He gives a dry chuckle.

She smiles briefly before a serious expression crosses her face, "then you are not going to like what I have to tell you, Jonathan Gilberts claims check out. The blood banks, the missing people, all of it is true." She tilts her head to the side, "we might have a problem."

For a bit longer they chat before he heads off to get something else to drink from the bar. Elena walks up to him and asks, "have you noticed what your brother has been up too?"

He turns to face her, "nope, I haven't been paying attention, I figured you would alert me if there was a problem." Flashing a smile, he hands her a rose before walking away to go outside. He can feel her eyes on his back as he moves away from her.

While he is standing outside relaxing, he hears footsteps approaching him and smirks, he is sure that it is going to be John Gilbert, they were about due to run into each other. For a few minutes they banter back and forth, he realizes that Gilbert knows he is a vampire but he wants to find out how much he knows. Gilbert makes a smartass comment towards the end of the conversation and as he is walking away he decides to deal with him now he fast moves to where he is standing, snaps his neck and throws him off of the balcony they were standing on before going back inside.

When he gets inside he looks for Elena and finds her near Matt. He goes to tell her that he had just snapped her uncle's neck, when Gilbert comes walking in the room. As he joins the group waiting for the announcement of the beginning of the festivals he finds himself standing next to Alaric. As Gilbert gives his speech he notices the ring on his hand and points it out to Alaric. They have a quick discussion about the ring, Isobel, and the fact Gilbert seems to know too much.

Without discussing it, they decide to leave, as they do so, they are joined by Gilbert who makes another smartass comment. The three men have a tense conversation about what Gilbert knows and Gilbert admits to having sent Isobel to Damon to be changed. Not much else is said, past another smartass remark by Gilbert as he leaves, leaving Damon watching him wondering how he knows what he knows and Alaric watching him with sorrow on his face.

Elena's POV  
After she gets home with her aunt and brother, she bids them both good night but before she goes to her room she stops to make sure Jeremy is truly fine. He is upset about what happened to Vicki and pissed that no one seems to be doing anything about it but he understands it as well since Elena has already explained what's going on to him. She gives him a hug before going in her room.

She had just taken off her jacket and thrown it on the bed, when she spots a dark figure in her mirror, spinning around and gasping, she is shocked to see Stefan. He apologizes for taking off on her earlier and she finally gets him to admit that there is a problem and explains what happened. He is truly broken up over his lack of control, but is trying to keep his promise to be honest to her even though they are no longer together. She reassures him that she will be there for him as a friend, and hugs him, turning her head to the side when he tries to kiss her.

Stefan's POV  
Sometime life is a real pain in the ass, particularly when the bloodlust is making everything more difficult than he really wanted to deal with. After leaving Elena's he heads back home, when he gets there Damon is sitting in front of the fire place drinking a glass of blood he begins to say something about there being a problem but Stefan doesn't catch what he is saying, his entire focus is on the glass of blood in Damon's hand. When Damon realizes that, he sighs, not finishing whatever it was he was going to say before setting the glass down and wishing him a good night.

Once Damon is gone he stares at the glass even harder trying to resist the cravings that are driving him slowly insane. Finally he gives up, and drinks the blood before going up to his bedroom, as he opens the door he presses his palm against the glyph just above the door handle causing it to turn blue. As soon as he shuts the door, a faint glow outlines the room before fading away.

_Hello folks, coming up within the next two chapters the Clarity and finally some more action between Damon and Elena. As always, reviews are appreciated._


	25. Chapter 24

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Elena's POV  
Over the last week things have been a bit crazy. She had not seen Stefan or Damon much. Stefan was still staying at his house trying to detox, while Damon was trying to figure out what's going on with her uncle. He had stopped by a few days before and mentioned the fact that her uncle had the same type of ring as Alaric as he had discovered after snapping his neck. Part of her was pissed that he had tried to kill her uncle, but she vaguely understood why. She also had to appreciate the fact he had told her about it. After all he could have not and she never would have found out. Things with him were confusing.

By the time she was getting ready for the school on Friday, she has almost figured out what seems to be so confusing about her emotions towards Damon and Stefan. When she gets to school, she is surprised to see Stefan pulling in with his red Porsche.

She walks over to say hi, and the two of them have a brief chat about how he is doing, when he tries to kiss her she turns her head to the side so he misses. They start to walk up to the school but he tells her he has to return to his car, he forgot his bag. She nods and heads in but glances back to see him staring into his trunk.

When she gets inside, she greets Bonnie but is pointedly ignored. Sighing, she heads to Alaric's class for history. As Stefan catches up she thinks to herself, I guess she still does not want to talk with me, I wonder if we will ever go back to being friends like we were?

After school Elena catches up with Bonnie as she is walking away. "Bonnie," she calls out.

Bonnie glances at her replying, "hey," but continues to walk away.

"Hey I umm tried to grab you after class but you had already taken off. How are you?"

Bonnie finally stops to look at her, her expression is cloudy, "I'm dealing, there has been a lot for me to think about."

Elena glances down, "I really missed you lately."

She gives a small shake of her head with a shrugs, "there has been so much to deal with, to consider. After the tomb and then the boarding house casting, I just didn't want to deal with it."

Elena just looks at her, her friend has changed and she misses their easy friendship. She is getting ready to talk to her when Caroline comes jogging up, "Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie! Thank god you're here." She throws her arms around her, giving her a hug, as she straightens up she bubbles, "I know we talked every day but I missed you. How was your visit to your aunts?"

Bonnie smiles, "I'm better, I have been trying to keep myself busy."

Grinning, Caroline enthusiastically comments, "Well I can help with that! Major wardrobe sorting needed ASAP. You need to help me pick the perfect dress for the founder's court."

Elena glances at her, titling her head sideways, "the founder's court? Did I miss something?" her voice is full of confusion. She glances between Caroline and Bonnie trying to remember what they are talking about.

Caroline glances at her, "the founder's court. You know, Miss Mystic Falls. They announced it today and both you and I are on it."

Realization hits and she gasps, "Oh my god we signed up for that so long ago. I completely forgot." Frowning, she gives a small shake of her head.

Caroline nods, smiling still before a concerned look comes across her face as she inquires, "wait, are you dropping out then?"

She shakes head, glancing at Bonnie who is still giving her a cold look. "I can't."

"No?"

Bonnie gazes at Caroline replying for her, "her mom is the one who wanted her to do it."

For a moment the three of them are silent, all looking at the floor before Caroline looks at her and gives a nod.

Damon's POV  
After Stefan leaves for school he heads over to speak with Liz about a matter that she is concerned about. When he gets there, Gilbert is already there. The discussion is about the fact the hospital has been robbed of blood and it almost would not have been noticed because the attended had his mind changed but there was something off about the counts from the day before. Following several minutes of discussion Gilbert suggests that Damon and him work together to discover who is behind this. He plays along just because he does not want Liz to discover his secret and to keep an eye on Gilbert.

Once the meeting is done he heads home to think, however shortly after arrival there is a knock at his door. Intrigued because he had not heard a vehicle, he opens the door to find Ana standing there. Well that's interesting, she must not mean him any threat if the wards allowed her up to the door without a problem.

In order to not reveal the new safety measures he leans against the door, sarcastically commenting, "I suppose I should be grateful. You learned to use the bell."

Titling her head to the side she responds, "I am here on behalf of my mother."

He turns, walking into the house and she follows shutting the door. "On behalf of or in spite of?"

"I am sorry about what the other vampires did to Stefan. Abducting him, torturing him, wasn't supposed to go down like that." She tells him as she follows him into the library.

He grabs his drink and replies sardonically, "You're playing house with half of a tomb full of really pissed off vampires. What did you think was going to happen?"

She walks past him while he is talking and turns so she is facing him. "My mom was devastated, they tried to over throw her."

Giving her a look, he asks, "why isn't she the one here telling me this?"

Ana sighs turning away, "she doesn't really do apologies."

He sets his glass down and walks over to where she is standing, "well that's a coincidence, because I don't really do forgiveness so just run along. Now if you are going to continue playing house with your little vampire pets you might want to stop robbing the blood bank dry 'cause they are on to it."

Her expression turns confused as she responds, "I haven't been to the local blood bank in at least a week."

With a slightly cocky tone he replies, "then one of the others maybe."

She shakes her head, "no Damon, they are gone."

Frustrated he demands, "where did they go?"

They were not cut out for this town, after what happened with your brother my mom kicked them out and they took off." she replies, "it is just the two of us and Harper now."

His expression turns thoughtful as he figures out that it is Stefan who broke into the hospital for blood. It is not long afterwards that she leaves and he is left there with his thoughts. The rest of the afternoon seems to go in a blur as he considers the fact that s brother is lying about how well he can control the bloodlust.

When Stefan walks in after school he throws his backpack on the table by the door, Damon comes down the stairs inquiring, "How was school?"

Stefan turns to face him, replying, "Fine," before turning away.

"Yeah?" he questions, as he follows him, "same old, same old? Nothing new? No stories to bring home?" his voice is full of sarcasm as he waits to see if Stefan will admit to taking the blood.

Turning back towards him, Stefan comments, "you're making small talk, why?"

He keeps walking towards him as he answers, "You seem awful chipper lately, less doom and gloom, more pep in your step." He stops when he is directly in front of Stefan with only inches between them.

Titling his head, Stefan sarcastically answers, "and you think it's because I had drank human blood again."

Damon rolls his eyes at him muttering, "I don't need to brag, but I think I can claim some of the responsibility for this new and improved Stefan." He is still waiting for Stefan to be honest about the blood.

Smirking, Stefan tells him, "I hate to burst your bubble, but I am clean."

He then turns to walk away as Damon contradicts him, "yeah, not possible."

Stefan stops turning to look at him as he continues to lie, "not only is it possible, it is quite true."

In the most patronizing tone he can manage, Damon says, "Stefan let's be serious for a second. You spent the last century and a half being a poster child for Prozac and now you expect me to believe that this new you has nothing to do with human blood." He puts emphasis on the word nothing, filling it with distain and sarcasm.

Smirking, Stefan lies again throwing his hands up, "I'm clean," as he walks out of the room.

"You're lying," he tells Stefan, his tone going from patronizing to disbelieving.

Stefan just shrugs, "believe what you want."

A few minutes after Stefan leaves the room his phone goes off. He glances at it and is surprised to see that it is Elena calling him. "Damon's phone," he answers.

For a second there is silence before she begins to speak. "Hello Damon, I know it is kind of last minute but I have a major favor to ask of you. Can you escort me to the Miss Mystic gala tomorrow? I had no idea it was coming up and had forgotten that I signed up for it with everything that has happened since then."

There is a brief pause before he answers because he is shocked she is asking him and not his brother, "I would be greatly pleased to be your escort. Formal wear I am guessing?"

He can just about hear her smile on the phone, "thank you Damon, and yes, formal. My mom was really into the founder's day stuff, she was even Miss Mystic in her day, so I want to do it for her."

He smiles, one thing he has realized is she is very loyal to those she cares about and it does not surprise him that she wishes to honor her mother like this. "Alright, I will see you tomorrow. Get some rest, I need to deal with Stefan."

She bids him farewell. As soon as he is off of the phone he heads down to the basement because he had just heard Stefan go down there. Sure enough when he gets to the door of the room where he keeps the blood Stefan is standing there with the chest freezer wide open looking like he is about to grab a bag of blood.

Smirking he comments, "well, well, he's a liar and a thief."

The next few minutes goes quickly as they have another discussion about the fact Stefan still lacks control of his bloodlust. Stefan tries to avoid taking the blame by blaming Damon for it. When that does not work he tries to act like everything is going fine, so when Damon inquires as to what Elena thinks of it Stefan just says she doesn't need to know 'cause he is still the same. Damon snorts at that, knowing that it is false. Eventually, Stefan just walks away commenting again on how he is in control.

The following morning before he is to meet up with Elena in town in order to practice dancing, Gilbert shows up at the house. However due to the barrier around it he cannot get onto the property. Damon chuckles at that, and carefully focuses on the wards, asking them to let him in at this time but not to in the future. He feels a feather soft touch against his skin and a moment later he is letting Gilbert into the house. He allows Gilbert into the house and they verbally dance around the matter of vampires, Pearl, and the device that had been stolen from Gilberts ancestor. When the conversation gets annoying he throws Gilbert out of the house, promising to kill every single person he has to if Gilbert tells them.

Once Gilbert is gone, he gets into the car and heads to town. When he gets there they are just getting ready to line up to practice dancing. Stefan is there, standing on the side lines and seems to be surprised when he sees him. Elena on the other hand is happy that he made it and the two of them line up. He smirks at her as they begin. She cannot help but giggle at the serious expression on his face.

"You look focused," she tells him as they switch from right to left.

He grins, telling her, "This is really the simplest form of this."

She grins at him and they continue to practice. From the sidelines Stefan has a thoughtful expression as he watches them. After they get done practicing Stefan walks over to them, inquiring, "Damon?"

She turns to look at him nodding once, "Yes, Damon. I did not want to deal with you trying to get back with me so I asked him because I could and we are friends."

His expression darkens while Damon just looks at her thoughtfully. A few minutes later they see Caroline and Bonnie, Elena goes to greet her but she is standoffish and cold when Elena asks to have a word with her she initially tries to avoid it but ends up giving in.

The two girls step outside into the hall, but he can still hear them.

Elena is just about in tears as she says, "Bonnie you have to tell me what is wrong."

"It's not worth talking about," she replies in a less frosty voice.

Confusion colors Elena's voice as she asks, "what do you mean not worth it? You have barely said ten words to me, and you won't even look at Stefan or Damon." She pauses for a moment, her voice growing firmer, "is that what it is? Is it them?"

Bonnie sighs, "listen, Elena I can't just pretend like everything is okay, those two, with those girls have let the vampires out that grams was concerned about. Now they are roaming about and I have to worry about what they will do."

"I'm so sorry Bonnie, what can I do to make it better?" he hears her ask.

"That's just it. There is nothing you can do to make it better. I blame both of them, and I am not going to put you in a situation where you have to choose sides. I'm just having a hard time with it. Okay?"

Elena doesn't respond but he is sure that she nods. Sighing she comes back over and says she has to go get her stuff. Damon nods, and tells her he will see her there. Stefan takes off without saying anything. He heads home to change into something a bit more formal then he normally wears.

A short while later he is already waiting for Elena when he spots Ana walking though as if she has purpose, "in the running for Miss Mystic Falls?" he inquires sarcastically as he approaches her.

Smiling, she glances around as she replies, "sometime you have to wear uncomfortable heels to blend in." she pauses for a moment, as he moves closer, "I remember this from 1864, I was supposed to enter before everything happened."

As she is speaking he makes noises at all the right spots before commenting, "Nostalgia is a bitch."

She looks directly a head, telling him, "if you're just going to mock me can you move along please."

He leans a little closer to her after glancing around to make sure that Gilbert is not in sight. "John Gilbert thinks that your mom stole an artifact from Jonathan Gilbert back in 1864."

She shrugs, inquiring, "What are you, his errand boy?"

He scowls at her, his expression very serious. "I don't know what it is, but I don't want him to have it," he bites out before walking away, not giving her a chance to question him or comment.

Elena's POV  
In the dressing area, she is getting ready with her aunt Jenna assisting her. She thanks her, but Jenna just makes an off the wall comment about her hair falling off. For a little bit they discuss when Elena had first signed up with her mom and all of the excitement that there had been and how it feels so un-exciting now.

Eventually the conversation changes and Jenna asks, "So who is your partner?"

Elena turns and look at her, replying, "Damon, I thought of asking Stefan but that would be sending mixed signals since I do not want to get back with him and that is how he would have seen it."

"Damon huh?" her aunt asks with a chuckle, "I thought you said he was an ass?"

She chuckles, answering, "He grows on you, kind of like an acquired taste." Standing, she turns to look directly at her aunt, "well I best go get changed, try not to hurt yourself or anyone else with that," she tells her motioning to the curling iron.

She goes into the other room in order to change when Damon comes in. "Hey you can't be up here," she tells him.

He walks over to her, "we need to talk, normally I would have a completely different outlook on what I am about to tell you but since it could inconvenience me, I'll" he pauses for a moment, "squeal."

She gives a small chuckle, "what are you talking about?"

His expression gets very serious as he tells her, "Stefan is still drinking human blood."

The humor she had just felt drains out of her, because he had promise he had gotten it under control yet she knew Damon had never lied to her so he probably was not lying this time either. "What?"

He shrugs, "yeah, a month ago I would have rejoiced, however with the council back on alert now is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle."

She shakes her head, "I know he has been a little edgy but he said that was normal."

"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house." He tells her, keeping his eyes on her face.

She turns and walks over to the small loveseat, sitting down on it. "Oh my god," she gasps, shock running through her.

Damon turns to keep looking at her, "he has no idea what normal is, his entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood, but he has spent all of this time fighting it instead of learning how to control it. Now it is controlling him instead."

She gives a shake of her head, "I can't believe it, its Stefan we are talking about here," even she can hear the fact that she knows he is telling the truth.

"Stefan on human blood Elena, will do anything, he will say anything because he is not gonna wanna stop. Trust me."

She starts to freak out about it, moments later Stefan comes walking into the room, asking what's going on. Damon turns to glance at him telling him that he is just filling her in on his behavior. While Stefan tries to deny it, Damon dismisses himself and tells her he will be ready when it is time down stairs. For a few minutes he tries to convince her that there is nothing different about him, that there is no effect of drinking human blood but she does not buy it. It becomes more confrontational and it clicks within her that he refuses to acknowledge that there is something wrong. She is happy when Mrs. Lockwood interrupts because it gives her a chance to think and change.

When she is done changing, she joins Caroline on the balcony to wait to get called on. When Mrs. Lockwood asks if anyone has seen Amber she immediately looks for Stefan and is concerned when she cannot find him. She is just about ready to walk away when Caroline convinces her to stay. When she is announced with Damon as her escort she cannot believe how happy she is it was him she asked and not his brother.

Even though she is worried about where Stefan and Amber are, she finds herself drawn to Damon as they dance. As the song finishes she the clarity kicks in with more force than it had in weeks. It wasn't Stefan she was in love with, it was Damon.


	26. Chapter 25

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Backtracking just a little…  
_Stefan's POV  
She wasn't supposed to find out him drinking human blood, he had not wanted her to find out. So when he lost control right after she had confronted him it made it worse. That the human girl Amber witnessed his loss of control just made things all the worse. Acting on instincts he had taken the girl with him into the woods, compelling her to remain calm, the longer she remained calm the better her chances would be. She acted as if she was actually concerned for him, but he figured it was just a side effect of the compulsion she was feeling.

Back and forth he debated about what to do, every so often they would talk but the compulsion that kept her from being afraid was also making it far too easy for him to use her as prey because it made her willing. After what seemed like hours but was truthfully just minutes his control of the desire slipped and he feed on her directly, not bothering to make it feel good for her. Eventually he stops and begins to pace. Over the next couple hours he alternates between feeding on her indelicately and pacing.

They speak again, this time about fear, and he tells her to run. Unfortunately for her, that is the worst thing she can do as she obeys the compulsion his nature as a predator kicks in and he chases after her.

Damon's POV  
During their dance, Elena's heart had sped up and her eyes had widen. He really wished he knew what she had been thinking in the moment, because he was sure it had something to do with him. However after the dance, she had backed up to join the other girls and had watched him, her heart slowing back down. While they waited for the next part of the celebration both had discreetly tried to find Amber and Stefan, but as the time passed they had been unable to.

As day turned to night, the girls were called to line up for the announcing of who was Miss Mystic Falls. The only person who was surprised that Caroline was chosen was Caroline. After a lot of happy squeals, a guy requests his presents with Liz, they have found something. Gilbert and Liz show him the bathroom and mention the fact that Amber is missing. He nods, and says he will go look.

When he gets down stairs, he spots Elena and takes her off to the side, telling her about what is going on. Briefly they speak before agreeing to try and find them. After they collect her coat they take off into the woods, Damon follows the smell of blood and finds them just as Stefan bites her again.

He tries to talk him through it but it does not work as Stefan throws him at a tree, he gets up, dusting himself off. Before he can do anything else, Stefan grabs his head in pain, glancing over towards Elena shows that Bonnie is there and focusing her power on Stefan. As his control returns she lets up and Stefan runs away.

He makes sure to wipe the girls memory of what happened before calling for Liz. When Liz and the others get there a quick report is done on how Elena and Bonnie had found her and then called Damon, who called her. After the girls leave, Liz asks if they had seen the bite mark and he tells her no.

Once everybody has cleared out, he sends a test to Elena before heading to the boarding house to deal with his brother. He is surprised to see Ana and Pearl standing on the porch, and knows before he says anything that they are not there as a threat. "right, now this is getting weird," he comments as he walks up to them. "I'm not in the mood, today has ended on a no good, very bad day." His tone is a bit on the harsh side.

Pearl steps next to her daughter, "Anabelle tells me you are looking for something I took from Jonathan Gilbert."

He watches her, replying, "I'm listening." He is curious about it and would like to know despite everything else going on in his life.

She hands him a pocket watch, well at least it looked like a pocket watch on the outside however in truth it was not. He inquires to Pearl as to what it is, and she explains about Jonathan and his inventive streak. They finish the conversation and then he goes inside to confront Stefan.

However when he gets inside the house Stefan is already in his room, since the glyphs on the door are not activated, Damon pushes it open to see his brother there.

"You scared Elena," he tells him, "and she wants her moody Stefan back as a friend, so I am going to lock you in here until you start to regain control." Stefan tries to rush him but Damon has already pressed the second glyph on the door, the one that Stefan cannot see. As Stefan slams into the barrier that surrounds the room he howls his displeasure but it means nothing to Damon. In this situation, it is Elena who he is concerned about.

Walking away from the room, he can hear Stefan going berserk on his stuff, he picks his phone up and makes another phone call, this time to Necessity.

When she first answers her phone, "Hello uncle," her voice is soft.

He sighs, chuckling softly, before giving the reason he called. "I have a favor to ask, can you come keep an eye on Stefan for a few days? I have used that barrier on his bedroom door to lock him in, and I wish to leave town for the weekend but someone has to be able to give him his blood, which we are trying to get him to go back to animal blood."

"Of course, I shall be there in less than twenty minutes," she replies.

He thanks her and hangs up. Smiling to himself, he wonders how Elena is going to take the fact he is 'kidnapping' her for the weekend, she needs to relax, when he had last seen her she was at her breaking point.

Elena's POV  
She had realized his control was not that good but for him to do that was almost unthinkable. The sad part was that she had been warned by Damon that he would and could do anything because he lacked control. Then to have her best friend turn on her was like adding gasoline to the flame of her depression. Now she stands outside of the party, watching the woods, and waiting. Her mind is whirling at a thousand miles per minute with the clarity making it hard to forget things she wished she could but really needed to remember. Through everything however, the realization that she was in love with Damon was still the biggest thing on her mind.

How could she have fallen in love with him? She wonders even though she knows it's because he never lies to her, was there pretty much whenever she needed help, visits with her, cooks, and all the other little things that have happened since the tomb. To a point she was worried about how her Jenna and Jeremy were going to take that news but she knew it was not something that she was going to hold in. A better question was how was she going to tell Damon? That one she was not sure about.

When Alaric walks up behind her saying, "oh good, there you are, Jenna wanted me to get the car," she turn to face him with her expression full of sadness. He stops walking right next to her asking softly, "what happened?"

She does not know how to answer him.

Her phone buzzes, glancing at it she sees it is a text from Damon saying he is going to deal with Stefan at the boardinghouse and will be by later. To which she replies alright. She heads home with Jenna and Alaric, debating about going over to the boarding house, but decides against it. She has too much to think about and it would be far safer for Damon to deal with him than it would be for her to deal with him.

When she gets she asks Jenna if she can talk with her, Jenna agrees and the women go into Elena's room, shutting the door so her uncle cannot listen in when he gets back.

"Jenna, what would you say if I told you I was in love with Damon?" she asks nervously.

Jenna perches on the edge of her bed, patting the spot next to her, when Elena sits down, she answers, "I would say I am not shocked, but to be careful. Elena, he's a vampire who has been around for a while. But I get the impression that our little family is the only time he has been treated normally, people like that have a hard time with relationships." She gives a shake of her head, "I should probably be telling you how wrong he is for you, but I cannot because between him and Stefan, he is the far better choice from what I have seen. Don't get me wrong, I like Stefan, I just don't think you to are meant for each other the way he does."

She stares at her aunt that was not what she expected her to say. "I…"she begins but finds that she does not know how to respond. "Thank you, Jenna, it means the world to me that you are not pissed about it."

Jenna chuckles, giving her a half hug, "well you have been upfront with me about it, it would be a different story if you were trying to hide it. Besides, I know one thing."

"What?" she asks, curious to see what her aunt's answer will be.

"With a vampire I never have to worry about you coming home accidently pregnant." Comes her aunt's smartass reply.

Blushing, Elena can do nothing more than shake her head when she hears the familiar rumble of Damon's car. Jenna gives her another hug then goes down stairs. A few minutes later, Damon is knocking on her bedroom door, smirking.

"Pack a bag for warm weather," he tells still smirking, "I am 'kidnapping' you and have already told Jenna not to expect you home till Sunday night."

She shakes her head staring at him, slight confused, what was he talking about? "What?" she asks baffled.

He steps into her room, coming over to her and looking into her face, his smirk fades away to be replaced by a serious expression. "Your upset because of everything that's going on, Stefan, Bonnie, that asshole your related to showing up. So I decided to kidnap you for the weekend to relax. You don't have to worry about Stefan, Necessity will be at the house in order to make sure he gets animal blood, his room has already been emptied of all the human blood, and warded so he cannot leave it. Something about it would be more comfortable for him then the cellar." He pauses for a moment, his eyes searching her face, "besides, I got the impression you had something you wanted to talk about earlier."

For a moment, she just stands there staring at him, but eventually she starts moving around the room in autopilot collecting up some clothes. He heads back down stairs to wait. When she is done, she grabs her bag and goes down stairs, curious as to what he is planning.

When she gets down stairs, she is surprised to hear an argument between Jenna and Uncle John about whether she can go or not. However, as Jenna is her guardian, she gets the final say and tells her to have fun.

_I realize that it cliffhangers but it really is for the best. The next chapter is actually going to be a two-part chapter I should have it posted by tomorrow. Enjoy and review please!_


	27. Chapter 26: Part 1

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_This chapter is for Ferrydenpurple and SwanQueen4055, hope you two enjoy._

Damon's POV  
When they get onto the porch before she stops and looks at him muttering, "There is something I need to say."

He pauses next to her, curious because he can hear her heart racing. Murmuring comfortingly, he mutters, "What is it? You know can say pretty much anything to me."

She takes a deep breath, she looks like she is bracing herself before she begins to speak in a very quite tone. "I'm not in love with Stefan because I'm in love with you."

He almost doesn't hear her, her voice is so soft. Had he been human he wouldn't have heard her at all. To say he was in shock was an understatement. Encouragingly, he purrs, "say that again, I think I miss heard."

Instead she tilts her head up and presses her lips to his before bolting to the car without giving him a chance to respond in any sort of way.

Throughout his entire long life he had never been more surprised than he was at that exact moment. She had picked him? Loved him? Now that was one for the records because he was never the brother that was picked. Hell, in almost all things he was never the one who was picked. That had been true in both his human life and his vampire life. So how the hell was he picked? He guessed that they could discuss it on the way to New Orleans.

He is about to walk over to the car when Jenna comes walking out of the house with her purse.

She spots him standing on the porch and grins, "judging by your expression she told you."

He nods once, raising a questioning eyebrow.

She shrugs, "she told me shortly before you got here but I have wondered for a couple of week now. I would tell you not to break her heart, but since you tried to get back with a girl for nearly hundred years I doubt that is a problem that will arise in the future."

Before he has a chance to respond, she pats his arm and heads over to her vehicle. Getting in it, she gives a small wave and leaves.

He shakes his head again, twice now in one day he has been thrown off course by something a lady has done. How odd.

Getting into the car he smirks at Elena as he fastens his seatbelt. "Read?" he inquires right before he puts the car in gear and takes off. For a while they drive down the road in almost silence, the radio being the only noise. Eventually he decides to ask, "So when did you realize you loved me?"

When she does not answer, he glances over to see that she is sleeping. A small smiles plays across his lips. With her asleep it gives him more time to consider what she had said before bolting into the car. As the miles fly by he wonders how he was so lucky to get picked this time and seriously hopes that she is not just thinking that because she is depressed. If she is serious though, well that would be something totally different and completely awesome. Though what would she expect of him? That could be a really big problem depending on the answer. Giving a shake of his head, he tries to clear his mind of the mushy thoughts. He was not losing his edge to a beautiful, accepting girl. Not happening. Right.

Grinning, he turned his thoughts to the plans he had for the weekend before he discovered that she was in love with him. He had already called a head in order to reserve the hotel room so that he would not need to worry about finding somewhere to stay. He had also made dinner reservations a well for the following night. The trip would take roughly six hours to get there, putting them there in the early morning. He figured they would be able to get some sleep, then sometime about midday go out on the town and have fun.

They have been on the road for nearly an two hours when the car runs low on gas causing him to stop to fill up. While he is filling the car up, Elena wakes up and gets out of the car yawning and stretching.

Rubbing her eyes, she inquires, "Are we there or just on a break?"

He smirks, "A break, but no asking where we are, it's a surprise."

She nods, and looks at him questioningly before softly asking, "Was I dreaming or did I really tell you I love you and then kissed you last night?"

Turning to face her, he smirks, "you did indeed, I was wondering why but you fell asleep."

Her skin colors as she blushes, "that was not how I meant to do that. I was serious though, I realized it yesterday afternoon while we were dancing and well, yeah." She just trails off.

His smirk changes into a smile, "well it definitely startled me. I don't think I have been that shocked in my entire life. Now I wonder what you wish to do about it?" his tone is questioning.

A thoughtful look crosses her face, "I am not sure, I think that is something better discussed or something,"

Chuckling softly, he leans forward capturing her lips with his. His tongue flicks out and teases her until she opens her mouth, at which point he deepens the kiss until he hears the gas pump turn off. Pulling back he watches her through a hooded gaze. Her eyes are glazed, her heart racing, her breathing erratic.

"Shall we get something to drink?" he asks her, his voice is husky.

Blinking, she nods and the two of them go inside. He smiles while she looks around trying to decide what she wants to snack on and drink. Eventually she settles on a Pepsi and a bag of chips, while he grabs a bottle of bourbon. Once everything is paid for they get back in the car and head back out.

As he takes sip of his bourbon he inquires, "Well, now that we have determined that we have a mutual attraction, any ideas as to what you want to do?"

She chuckles, shaking her head, "Take it day by day? Have lots of fun? Drive everyone else insane? Go steady, do you do steady? I really don't know." She is babbling as she answers, still nervous about her confession and his reaction.

He snorts, chuckling, "driving everyone insane while having fun is always on the planner." He tells her, "steady…yeah I do steady, remember I am the guy who chased the girl for one-hundred and forty-five years before realizing it was never what it seemed." She smiles in response.

For a while they continue on with only the music for noise, eventually he comments, "I think I would like steady, if you're serious." His gaze flickers to her as he says it to watch her reaction. He can hear her heart racing again as she thinks about it, for a bit he is not sure how she is going to answer but then he catches the scent of arousal, and knows it will all work out.

The smile she gives him is a brilliant, lighting up her entire face, "I'm serious." She tells him, her hand snaking over the seat to grab the one not on the steering wheel.

The rest of the ride goes smoothly, the smile on her face matched only by the one that lights up his blue eyes.

As the pull into New Orleans she looks around slightly shocked, it is normally a ten hour trip and they had completed it in less than six hours, chuckling, she comments, "I don't want to know how fast we were going to get here so soon."

He chuckles, maneuvering at a far slower speed now, down the roads until he pulls into a beautiful resort. Parking the car, he comes to her side and opens the door for her. "We're here," he informs her still smiling. If everything goes the way it is looking right now it is going to be a fun weekend. The two of them walk into the hotel and up to the desk. When he gets there, he pulls his credit card out, setting it down as he tells the receptionist, "Salvatore."

For a few minutes it is silent as she clicks away at the computer, eventually she confirms with him, "master suite, king size bed, with mini-bar, hot tub, and breakfast at eleven a.m.?"

He nods, and she processes the transaction before waving a bellhop over to show them to the room and take their bags. When they get up to the room, he tips the young man rather nicely, before leaning against the door and watching her. She meanwhile, is exploring the entire room, taking everything in and cheering as she does so.

When she is done exploring she goes over to the bed flopping down and sighing, "Wow."

Smirking, he walks over to the bed, "I take it you approve?"

Sitting up, she replies, "Approve? This is amazing, and you were thinking of doing this before our little discussion?"

He nods, as he removes his jacket and hangs it on the chair by the table. "Of course, we're friends, and I thought you needed to relax."

Smiling, she stands up and walks over to him, gazing at him, she tells him, "thank you," before leaning up to kiss him. Unlike the last time where he was unprepared for it, this time he wraps an arm around her waist pulling her close, while his other hand sinks into her hair to hold her in place as he kisses her back. For several minutes no sound escapes either of them, but when they break for air because she has to breathe at least, both are breathing very heavily.

Resting his forehead against hers he murmurs, "We should get some rest so we can go have fun later today, it's been a long trip."

She nods and slowly steps back, a silly smile plastered on her face. The next few minutes are quiet as she goes into the bathroom to change into some sleeping pants and a tank top, when she comes out, he is lounging on the bed wearing nothing but a pair of black silk sleeping pants. She clamors onto the other side of the bed and glances at him, muttering, "this is odd, but good. I never pictured you as the sleeping pants type."

He smirks at her, "I'm not, I prefer the buff, but I figured you'd be more comfortable right now if I had them on." His smirk turns to a grin as she blushes hotly. "Goodnight, Elena," he tells her, leaning over to kiss her one more time.

"Goodnight," she replies breathlessly when they are done. Smiling, she curls up by his side, her head on his chest and falls asleep.

It takes him a while, but eventually he is lulled to sleep by the sound of her breathing and the warmth of her body.

Elena's POV  
When morning properly rolls around, she finds herself waking up feeling a bit warmer than normal. At first she has to force herself not to freak because she had forgotten that she went to New Orleans with Damon. Damon. Now there was a situation to think on, she had confessed being in love, kissed him, and then fallen asleep in the car on him. When she woke up they had a discussion about it, and had ended up kissing some more. She was even more surprised that they seemed to have come to a conclusion to be steady, Damon said that he could be and she trusted that to be truth, after all he had not lied to her yet.

Titling her head a little bit, she can see that he is still asleep. Smiling and moving very carefully so not to wake him, she gets up, grabs her things and takes a long hot shower. She is startled when she hears someone knock at the hotel door, before she can turn the water off and answer, Damon is answering it. A moment later there is a knock at the bathroom door, "breakfast," he tells her.

She quickly finishes up and greats dressed in some comfy jeans, and a different tank top before going out there, her hair still wet. Smelling the food, she realizes how long it has been since she last ate, and comments, "that smells awesome."

He glances at her smiling, and she realizes that she has seen more real smiles out of him in the last twenty-four hours than she had in the last several months combined. "It is good, if you want to sit down I will bring you some, any preference?"

She shakes her head no, and takes a seat watching him. He deftly makes a plate full of food and sets it in front of her before getting on for himself. Sitting down across from her, they ate in silence, it was much like any of the times he had cooked at her house, but it seemed different still, more intimate. By the time they are done, she is feeling quite full but ready to explore.

"so what's on the planner for today?" she asks mischievously, knowing he probably has the entire weekend planned out.

Smirking, he replies, "day on the town, shopping, eating, having fun. Followed by dinner and dancing. Reservations are already made, since I did not tell you to pack a formal dress, we'll stop to get you all the supplies you need at some point.

She smiles at him, thinking that its going to be a lot o fun. The trip to Georgia had been unplanned but it had been a blast. So she is sure that this trip which was somewhat planned, would be even better. When they were done eating, he set the cart and dishes outside the door, before changing cloths in the bathroom. Once he was ready, he asked if she was and the two of them took off. She had never been to New Orleans, so he had a blast showing her around. They spent the next several hours going from place to place. Sometime around five he took her to a formal attire store, and told her to find something comfortable.

She could tell that he was getting antsy and wondered what it was. With a realization that she had not seen any blood in the car or hotel room, she figured out the problem. He needed to feed. Giving a shake of her head, she looked around. However she almost jumped through her skin when his phone went off. He answered it and a few minutes later he was smiling, even as he shook his head.

Grinning at her, he says, "you know the advantage of having someone who knows the future is? Assistance when important details get forgotten, when we get done here I have to make a stop."

She nods, as she debates between two different dresses. Eventually, she just asks him which one he likes better. Grinning, he tells her the dark red one goes good with her coloring. So that's the dress she gets, followed by shoes, make up, and proper undergarments for it. When they get to the check out she is greatly surprised by how much it costs, but he shushes her and pays for it. As they head back to the hotel, he stops at a winery, making her raise an eyebrow questioningly.

The two of them go inside, and the attendant asks "can I help you?" even before she sees them. When she rounds the corner and sees who it is, she says, "oh, hello there. Wow, definitely should have mentioned a male version of herself. Figures." Pausing for a moment, she calls out, "Al, bring the crate Havoc order out here, he's here."

A tall man comes walking out of the back with a crate in his hands, "are we sure about that Mel? The last time…" he trails off as he spots us, "never mind." Muttering to himself he walks over and hands Damon the crate he was carrying, "here you go, cousin." He tells him with a small smile. Giving a small bow to Elena, he returns to the back of the room.

"Cousin?" he repeats slightly baffled.

The woman nods, "yes, cousin, you are Damon correct? Septies line one vamperic uncle that makes us cousins because her grandmother married my great uncle." She pauses for a second before looking at her and commenting, "The bow was a show of respect, we are a matriarchal people, thus he shows respect to you the female, before leaving the room."

Damon hefts the crate, commenting questioningly, "it seems a bit heavier than just a weekends worth."

Mel smiles, "That's because it is a week's worth, plus a small gift. Please relay fifth lines greeting to first when you speak with Havoc again." She inclines her head then goes to help the customer who had just came in the building.

He gives a small shake of his head, smirking "Okay then, shall we get back so you can get ready for dinner?"

She smiles at him, wondering what type of gift they had in the box with the blood. As the two of them drive to the hotel she cannot help but think that she has been very lucky. Damon seems to love spoiling her, and is having as much fun as she is it seems like. Past that he is an awesome kisser. Throughout the day, any time she would start to worry about the cost of something he would kiss her silly until she was breathless and needy. Now as they return to the hotel, she can't help but think that tonight promises to be amazing if things keep going the way they have been all day.

Upon getting in, she kisses him one more time before locking herself in the bathroom to get ready, excitement blaring through her veins.

_H__ello everyone, this was a surprisingly hard chapter to write, and I rewrote the "discover" scene probably five or six times till I got it to where I wanted it. Next up, part two dancing, drinking, and something more?_


	28. Chapter 26: Part 2

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_This chapter is for Ferrydenpurple and SwanQueen4055 as well, hope you two enjoy. Lemons!_

Damon's POV  
While she was in the bathroom getting ready, which he was pointedly not going to think about since it involved being naked and he already had a case of blue balls, he decided to pour himself a glass of the blood that he had retrieved from the wine store. Upon opening the crate he discovered a printed off and folded letter, along with a card, five wine-shaped bottles of blood, and a bottle of bourbon. When he read the letter he had to chuckle, since it was obviously from Victoria.

_Uncle,  
__Please enjoy yourself this weekend with your bond-mate.  
__Do not worry about that fool of a brother.  
__Necessity has complete control of the house, including him.  
__Careful of the hunter's blood, it packs a punch.  
__Relay my greetings to Elena.  
__And my thanks to fifth line if you see them again.  
__Enjoy. _

_PS.  
__Do tell your bond-mate to relax.  
__I will insure nothing occurs towards her family while you are not there to deal with it.  
__I cannot promise her uncle will be in one mental piece however. _

Smiling, he set the letter down, and then opened the card up. The card was simple, on the outside, white with silver and gold edging. On the inside it merely stated: Felicitations on your bonding, may your time be forever in their embrace. He gave a small shake of his head, Victoria apparently had said something to them, if he was to go by what was in the letter then it was likely to be a long and mostly good relationship. After the way things had went with Katherine that would be greatly appreciated.

Setting the card down next to the crate, he pulled a bottle out and poured some into a glass. Taking a sip, he realized immediately what she meant by it packed a punch. It was like drinking raw power from a witch during casting, he would definitely have to be careful with it because that could be unsafe. Shaking his head, he finishes his glass but does not pour a second. Instead he puts the bottle back into the crate.

Once that is done he changes into a pair of black slacks, a light gray button down shirt, and a black dinner jacket. Sitting on the edge of the bed he waits for her, knowing that she should not be much longer based on the sounds he hears currently. When she steps out of the bathroom with her new gown and accessories on, he speechless for a moment, she is stunning. Standing, he walks over to where she is standing and tilts his head down to kiss her, when he is done he murmurs, "You're stunning," into her ear, before straightening up, offering his arm, and inquiring semi-formally, "May I escort you to dinner?"

Smiling at him, she accepts his arm and he leads her out of the room and hotel to the car. At the car, he holds the door for her before getting in. The two of them drive for a few minutes before he is pulling in front of a beautiful restaurant, where again he politely opens the door for her. Glancing at the valet he compels him to be extra careful with the car before he walks her inside. In the waiting area he tells the host "Salvatore" and waits patiently to be showed to their seat. Once at their seat he smiles at her, murmuring "I hope you enjoy," so only she can hear.

Nodding once, she glances around taking everything about the beautiful setting in. They are in the main dining area, seated at a booth by the windows overlooking a reflection pond and garden. Through one set of doors she could see a bar, while through a different set an area for dancing. The décor seemed to be all wood, with hardwoods for the primary pieces and softwoods for the accent tones. "It's beautiful, thank you."

As the waiter took their order, he flashed another smile at her, "The shrimp platter is good," he tells her, commenting on the meal she had ordered. He had ordered a gumbo himself, along with white wine for both of them, though the waiter did not ask for ID. As they wait for their dinner, he asks, "so what do you think of New Orleans so far?" as he sips at his glass of wine.

Taking a small sip of her wine, she replies, "I love it, the hotel is amazing, and it has been a blast just hanging out, window shopping, and spending time together." She blushes as she looks down at the table for a moment before looking back up and continuing, "I think I was being goofy taking so long to realize what was in front of me, but then I think I was also in denial, I'm so happy I came out of that before we got here so we can enjoy it even more."

His lips curve into that smirk that drives her nuts. "Really? You being goofy? Please." He rolls his eyes, giving a small chuckle. "Its half your appeal I am sure."

She giggles a little, and the conversation changes to if there is anywhere she wants to revisit. She grins, and then lists off some of the stores they had bypassed. It is decided that they will check them out the following day if there is time. Not long after wards dinner is brought out and their wine glasses are refreshed. As they eat, dinner conversation turns towards the future and what she wishes to do with herself. She tells him about wanting to study medicine like her dad had, but that she is not sure if she still wants that because when she originally came up with the idea she was doing it with him, now that he's gone she's not sure if it is really her. She also tells him about the wanting to study writing and journalism, because she loves to write as he might have noticed with the diary. She inquires if he has any goals and he just gives her a wicked grin that causes her entire body to heat up in lust if the arousal he can smell is anything to go by.

When dinner is done, he asks if she wants any desert and she just shakes her head no. Leaving a hundred dollar bill on the table, he offers his arm which she accepts and they head into the dancing area. The first song that comes on when they enter the dance room is a slow song. Smiling, he pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her as they sway to the music. Her head rests against his chest, just above his heart, the perfect spot for him to rest his head against the top of her head. As the song finishes the come to a stop on the dance floor, she tilts her head up to look at him. He smiles a softly before capturing her lips with hers to give her a deep kiss.

She's almost breathless when the kiss ends, and he merely smirks at her as the next song starts and he gets her dancing again. Between every dance no matter what type of song it is, they pause for a moment to kiss. Several times over the next several hours they stop for a drink before going back to dancing. By the time he asks if she is ready to go, she is almost mindless with desire. The smell of her arousal is driving him to distraction, but he is not done with his plans yet. Grinning, he pays for the drinks before escorting her out of the restaurant and dancing bar.

After having his car brought around, he opens the door for her, allowing her to get comfortable before getting into his side and taking off. Returning to the hotel, he parks and escorts her back up to the room. Upon getting into the room he catches her wrist and spins her towards him, kissing her soundly. His lips move against hers in a deep kiss, as his tongue flickers out and brushes against hers causing her to gasp. Pulling her against him, he can smell her arousal as she moves against him.

Stopping and resting his head against hers he listens to her heavy breathing with a smile. "What do you want Elena?" he murmurs in her ear as his tongue flicks out to trace the shell of her ear.

She moans, "Damon," she whispers, "please."

Smirking, he kisses the side of her neck as she allows her head to fall to the side. Against her neck, he inquires, "Tell me Elena, what do you want?" teasing her, he continues to kiss her neck, nipping and licking along the arch of her throat.

Her moans continue to stir his arousal but he is determined that she will say it before it goes much farther. There will be no mistaking intent in this later, not that he actually expects her to. Not after her announcement on the porch. Still smirking as he continues to hold her close and use his mouth to tease her, he waits as patiently as he can for her to make up her mind. He refuses to push her any further than she wanted to go.

Eventually she murmurs, "Please, Damon, take me to bed."

Grinning triumphantly, he carefully pushes the first strap of her dress down her arm, kissing her shoulder as he moves it out of his way. Brushing his fingers across her collar bone, he pushes the other strap down as well so her dress is only hanging on her by the top. Moving to stand behind her, he slowly unzips the dress top, allowing it to slide down to the ground. As the dress falls, his nimble fingers explore all the skin that is exposed. Full of passion, she turns seeking to kiss him some more.

Muttering under her breath, "you are far over dressed here."

He chuckles, unbuttoning, removing his evening jacket, and tossing it over the chair. Her slender fingers shakily unbutton his shirt, pulling it out of his pants though she seems to be having a hard time doing so since her hands are shaking and he keeps distracting her by running his hands over her body. When his hands reach her breasts, he takes the time to gently lift each one, giving it a soft squeeze before brushing his finger over each nipple in turn, playing with it until Elena was gasping in need. Eventually, he takes pity on her and removes his shirt and unbuttons his pants but leaves them on so far. Her fingers start exploring his body as he carefully backs them to the bed. Sitting down he pulls her between his legs, pulling her head down and kissing her again on the lips.

Groaning, she pushes him backwards as she trips on her heels and lands on top of him, the kissing never stops. Smiling against her lips, he rolls, so she is now the one on the bottom, the look she sends him is full of need and a moment later he is as naked as her, and he managed to take both of their shoes off too.

"You're gorgeous," he informs her as he kisses, licks, and nips his way down her body. Making sure to stop at each breast and give them special attention as well, while making sure to pay attention to what seems to please her. Continuing on his way, he skims her stomach, his tongue dancing around her belly button before moving on. When he gets to the junction of her thighs, she is making adorable mewling sounds, her body moving trying to relieve some of the pressure building inside her.

"Damon?" her voice is breath yet questioning as he pushes her legs a little wider and ducks his head down, running the tip of his talented tongue down her opening. "Damon!" the second time there is no question about it just pure pleasure which makes his male ego feel so much better because judging by her reaction no-one has done this with her before. Grinning he gets to work, enjoying every minute of it, though he has to hold her legs to keep her from kicking too hard as he brings her higher and higher, eventually he hits the spot that makes her scream, hips bucking as she cums all over his face.

Smiling he uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth off before snaking up her body quickly and capturing her lips in another kiss. This time when she groans its as she feels his heavy erection pressing into her, nudging her entrance. He breaks off kissing her to watch her expression as he slides in for the first time, internally rejoicing that he's the one who got the girl and is making her happy. When he is fully seated within her, he smiles at her moving his hips just a little to see what she'll do.

Moaning, she pushes back, lifting her legs to wrap around his waist in an attempt to get him to move, and move he does, slow and easy taking the time to enjoy the feel of her sheath around him because otherwise it would be over before it began. By the time he has her built back up and ready to cum again, he changes his thrusting just a little, and they are both off. Her screaming his name, while he groans hers. Spent for the moment, he shifts to her side, holding her as she catches her breath.

"Enjoy?" he inquires, already knowing the answer but wanting to know what she thought.

Glancing at his face she smiles sleepily, "yep, that was a-maz-ing, simply amazing. Can we do that again when we wake up?" she mumbles as she drifts off.

He smiles softly, gentle disentangling himself from her for a moment to grab a moist washrag and gently clean her up, while he doesn't mind the smell, he is sure she will mind the stickiness when she wakes up. Afterwards, he tucks her in and climbs in next to her, shutting off the lights. Tonight has been awesome. It had turned out far better than he was hoping for. Come morning he would know if she had any regrets but he doubted that she would. The last thing he thought before joining her in oblivion is, I could get used to having her with me always.

_Hi folks! Sorry it took so long, I have never written a sex scene like this before and wanted to do it justice. So whats everyone think so far? Reviews are loved._


	29. Chapter 27

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Thanks for the reviews SwanQueen4055 and Ferrydenpurple, if you were affected I was doing my job._

_More Lemons!_

Elena's POV  
When morning comes she awakes from her sleep feeling a combination of relaxed, sore, and pleased, not to mention toasty warm. Damon's body is curled against hers, a leg thrown across hers and his arms wrapped around her while her head is resting on his chest. Its one of the most comfortable ways she can remember waking up in recent years. As her body finishes waking, she realizes she has to use the bathroom but is not sure how to get up without disturbing the sexy vampire that she is sleeping with. Tilting her head up just a little she realizes that he's awake as he gives her a sexy smile and kisses her nose, before letting her go.

She rolls off the bed, heading straight to the bathroom. While she is in there she can hear him on the phone calling for room service though she does not hear exactly what he orders. After using the bathroom she flushes the toilet and sits down on its lid thinking about the previous night. It had been amazing, awesome, perfect. She could not think of a better way to describe it. Between the day spent wandering New Orleans to the night spent eating dinner and dancing, followed by the intense lovemaking. There was nothing that she would have enjoyed better. Shaking her head she goes back into the room but is shy about prancing around naked, after all the relationship is still very new.

He smiles at her, appearing at her side using his vamperic speed to move, and picks her up hugging her. Spinning her about, he places her on the bed and throws a blanket over her as he pulls his pants on and opens the door.

She admires the view as he gets their breakfast and tips the server, though he does not let him all the way into the room which she appreciates.

"Breakfast." He tells her, as he rolls it over to the bed, "you seem to like bacon so I got you bacon, cheesy eggs, toast, and coffee. I figured you would be hungry after last night." His smirk could be called cocky by most but she figures he has earned it.

Blushing she nods, and before she can move, he sets the tray on her lap on the bed before he grabs his own plate and gets on his side of the bed.

"Sleep well?" he inquires between bites, watching her.

Grinning, she replies, "I did and you?"

He leans over, kissing her exposed shoulder, "definitely. It was an awesome night."

She smiles, nodding before taking her next bite of food. "That it was," she comments.

When he finishes his plate he sets on the cart before glancing to see where she is with hers. Since it is empty except the coffee, she hands it to him to put on the cart which he does. Finishing the coffee she hands him that as well.

Curious, she asks, "Did you have plans for today, besides heading back at some point?"

Smirking, he replies, "well maybe, it depends on if you want a repeat of last night or if you would like to do something else."

She stands up, letting the sheet fall as she walks over to where he was standing after he had pushed the cart out the door and closed it. Reminding herself it was Damon, she refused to be nervous so she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to kiss. Once the kissing started again he spun her around so her back was against the door while he devoured her it seemed like. His hands seemed to be everywhere and her body was all geared up within minutes.

"Damon," she moaned as he sucked on the side of her neck.

Rubbing against her, the material of his pants feeling deliciously different compared to the skin of his chest, he replied, "yes?" in between kisses.

"Take me back to bed," she tells him, and he happily does. The two of them do not leave the bed for several more hours until her stomach starts to complain that she is hungry again.

About that time he asks if she would like to join him in a shower, at which point she blushes before agreeing to. Even though she is sore from all of the sex, she has never felt happier than she does right now with Damon watching her like a hawk, lust full in his expression. Grinning, she heads into the shower, noticing the lip on the wall she wonders if he will decide to make use of it with her and sure enough when he joins her, his eyes light up when he spots it.

As he shuts the curtain, she hugs him, murmuring, "I love you," against his chest. His arms wrap around her, tightening reflexively but not enough to hurt her.

"I love you Elena, do not doubt it," he whispers against hair as he holds her. For a few minutes the two of them just stand under the spray of the hot water holding each other.

She is almost overwhelmed with emotion. Finally she seems to be where she is supposed to be, she is in the arms of the one who has never lied to her, who has tried to be there for her when she needs someone, and who will probably always love her as long as she remains honest with him. Life could not be much better. When they get back to Mystic Falls she knows that there will be some fall out, but at this point she doesn't care, her real friends will stick with her and she has Damon. That alone is worth so much more than any pettiness that she may have to deal with.

Eventually she decides to initiate the contact between them. Her hands skimming down his body to carefully fondle him. She is not sure how he likes to be touched yet so she rather be careful than accidently harm him, though on reflection she is sure it would take a lot to do so. Groaning, he leans against the wall and lets her explore. As she gets bolder, her grip gets firmer and he seems to enjoy that. Curiously, she watches his face as her hand plays with him and finds his different versions of pleasure to be a very arousing thing to see.

Smiling at him, she drops to her knees his eyes slit open for a moment and a smirk curves his lips. Her fingers explore him for a few moments, learning where he sees to be the most sensitive at before her tongue flicks out and touches the tip of his cock. Groaning again, he widens his stance just a little so she can comfortably do whatever she is planning.

Interesting, she thinks to herself as she watches him, he likes it when I do that. So perhaps he will appreciate this.

A moment later she's taken his tip into her mouth and sucking on it like a lollipop, which has him unintentionally bucking his hips. That small movement pushes him further in, when she doesn't gag, she sees how deep she can take him and he whispers her name rather lustfully. The next few minutes are spent with her vastly enjoying sucking on him, and him having no problems letting her. When he cums in her mouth, she swallows it, before wiping what's on her lips off.

Standing, she takes some of the water in to rinse out the after taste. While he does not taste bad, she has a feeling that it is more of an acquired taste, much like he is. That was interesting, not a single complaint. That is something that she will have to consider for later.

The next thing she knows, he is spinning her around and setting her on the ledge, kissing her hard. As their tongues duel, her arms wrap around him. Between their bodies she can feel him getting hard again so she wraps her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. He nudges against her for a moment, before sliding in, causing both of them to groan in pleasure. Her head falls back against the wall and his body shifts closer, his hips moving against her. Within a few minutes they are both cumming hard.

Afterwards, his head drops onto her shoulder as they breathe hard.

Kissing, her shoulder he murmurs, "Thank you, enjoy?"

She grins, "oh yeah, you are amazing."

He chuckles, grabbing a wash cloth and slowly rubbing her body down. When he is done washing her, she takes the cloth and washes him. After they are done, they climb out and dry of before getting into some regular clothes in order to go out and roam the city. At some point she had latched on to his hand and did not let go. By the time for dinner, they had been all over the city. They were just passing a small restaurant when her stomach started growling so he pulled her in.

Glancing around, she takes in the small French style bistro. It is handsomely decorated and rather beautiful. They order dinner, each getting one of the specials for the bistro. Like dinner of the previous night, it goes smoothly. Though there is a bit more affection than there had been the previous night since she keeps giving him smiles of the intimate type. By time they are done, they return to the hotel and get everything together to leave. Just before they head out the door, he spins her against the door and kisses her thoroughly until she is breathless.

Dropping his forehead against hers like he has done several times before he murmurs, "If I am dreaming, don't wake me up. This weekend has been perfect."

She smiles at him, tilting her head back to kiss him gently. "It's not a dream, while I am sure there will be headaches when we get back, it's okay cause it was not a rash decision." Reaching her hand up to touch his jaw, she tells him, "I have made my choice, I love you." He smiles that brilliant smile of his, the one that makes his eyes seem to be even brighter.

Grabbing his hand, the two of them take their stuff and check out. As the two of them get into the car, she takes one more look at the hotel before they drive off. The ride back seems shorter to her even though she knows it is about the same amount of time. For the majority of it she is lost in thought wondering how she is going to explain this to her family and friends. However a large part of her does not care about how she is going to explain or whether they will accept or not. If they truly care for her then they will stand with her, otherwise, well she was the one with the sexy vampire who had a really good ability at sticking to things if the past is anything to go by.

The past. Well, she thought, I am not worried about if Katherine was to show up because she managed to burn her own bridges and I doubt he would ever be willing to put them back. Loyalty is definitely one of his strong suits, and he's given his loyalty to me according to behavior over the last few months. That's alright, because I'm loyal too and my loyalty is to him.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he inquires as the car flies down the road, they are about half-way back.

She turns to look at him, "you, friends and family, you some more." He frowns, staring out at the road with a concerned look on his face. Before he has a chance to start really fretting, she continues, "I think that this was the right choice, that you are the right choice. With that clarity spell bouncing around in my head it's hard to do anything without thinking things through so neither Stefan nor Bonnie can really comment on it. My Uncle John will be the biggest headache, but I avoid him anyways so that will not matter." Shrugging and smiling, she tells him, "'sides, I think your well worth it. I think that goes with the being in love."

After her speech he cannot help but chuckle, "only you."

She nods, "yep, only me, though I wanted to ask you something."

Glancing her way he replies, "ask away."

"Why did you compel me to forget the first time we spoke? The night my parents died, at that party?" her voice is soft, serious, yet curious.

Shocked, he pulls off to the side of the road, staring at her. "You remembered? When did you remember?"

Shrugging she responds, "since the day we got the spell book back. Bonnie had cast the clarity spell for the second time and it is the first thing that came to mind. The compulsion was broken. It just confused the hell out of me. Part of the reason it took so long to determine what I felt was that confusion. I did not understand your motives. Truthfully I still don't in regards to that day."

Sighing, he runs a hand through his hair, "you were young, beautiful, pure. I didn't want to be the one to ruin it."

She nods, reaches over the seat to grab his hand and smiles, "thank you for telling me."

Smirking, he leans over the seat and kisses her, "I will always be honest with you."

With that resolved the pair get back on the road. The rest of the trip goes by in a blur and they are pulling into her driveway shortly after midnight. As normal, he gets out of the car in order to open the door for her as is polite. Once she is out of the car, he grabs her stuff, and walks her to the door. She opens it and is surprised to see her Uncle John sitting there, his face dark with her Aunt Jenna in the kitchen looking like there was an argument just moments before.

Glancing between them, Damon quick travels to put her stuff on the bed before returning to her side. Even though he is gone for only a moment, her uncle starts yelling before he is even back.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, young lady? Where the hell have you been?" her uncle's voice is harsh.

She glances at Jenna as she feels Damon coming to stand with her. "I was with Damon, he spoke with Jenna before we left and she said it was alright. Since she is my guardian, not you Uncle John, its not your problem." She can feel Damon getting tense as he watches her uncle's behavior. Jenna merely shakes her head, commenting on him being an ass again.

Losing control of his temper, Uncle John demands, "Do you even know what he is Elena? I realize you know he is a vampire, but he's a killer. He's evil. All of their kind are."

She shrugs, "he's got the temper from hell, far more loyalty than should be expected of anyone, not a problem in the world snapping someone's neck because they are on his nerves. Oh yes Uncle John, I realize exactly what he is. But do you know what?"

He looks at her funny, startled to hear her answer him like that. "What?"

"He's also the one that sets my blood afire, wild and unexpected, terrifying and thrilling, and I love him. So you can just back the hell off." she snaps at him, before turning to Jenna, "I'll talk to you tomorrow after school okay?"

Jenna just grins at her "sleep well Elena, have a good night Damon."

Elena heads up to her room without say anything else. As she reaches the top of the steps she spots Jeremy leaning on his door, "Nice entrance, hello Damon."

She lets out a chocked laugh, shaking her head, "Oh Jer, I figured Uncle john would be like that."

Jeremy shrugs, "that's his thing, he thinks all vampires are evil. I'm not sure I agree to that statement, after all he," he motions to Damon, "is protective of you and Ana has been mostly good to me. So I think we'll just have to agree to disagree, have a good night." He tells her before he heads into his room and shuts the door.

Shaking her head, she goes in her room and puts her stuff away. Once it is put up she turns to see Damon lounging on her bed, watching her with a smile. Smiling back, she clamors up on the bed next to him, realizing how small her bed really is.

As he wraps his arms around her, she hears him whisper "thank you," into her hair.

She turns in his arms to look up at him questioningly before she remembers the journal she borrowed so long ago and t he fact he had not been the favored son. Couple that with the behavior she had seen from Stefan she was sure that it was a novel feeling for him. Smiling, she kisses him before tucking her head on his shoulder and drifting off to sleep.


	30. Chapter 28

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Lemons!_

Elena's POV  
Morning comes she awakes to find herself still fully dressed and wrapped in the arms of her love. When she goes to move, she discovers that he is already awake and has just been waiting for her to wake up. Tilting her head back, she kisses him deeply before wiggling out of his embrace to go us the bathroom to take a quick shower, when she gets done in there she returns to her bedroom with nothing but a towel on in order to find something to wear to school. From his spot on the bed he watches appreciatively if his expression is anything to go by.

Sitting up, he tells her, "morning love," as he stretches out.

She smiles at him, "good morning to you too," she replies stopping next to the bed to kiss him again.

Conversationally he comments, "You know, for such a small bed it is awful comfortable."

Chuckling, she hunts through her dresser for underwear. The next thing she knows Damon is standing behind her, his arms around her as he picks through her underwear drawer though this time it is not as awkward as the last time he had done so. When he pulls out a pair of black lace panties and matching bra he suggests in her ear, "what about this pair, I think that you'll look even more amazing than normal in them."

Blushing, she turns in his arms, taking them from him, "Alright."

He smirks, kissing her fast before flopping down on the bed to watch her dress some more. As she pulls the underwear on she decides on wearing a pair of tight black jeans and a long sleeve blue shirt. Pulling her clothes on, she is startled when her alarm for school goes off. He reaches over to shut it off, and keeps enjoying the show.

When she finishes up she looks at him and comments, "you know, it's a good thing there was no homework this weekend or I would be behind."

He stands up, and chuckles, "true, but I would be more than willing to be there for you while you get it caught up." At her startled looked, he smirks, "I enjoy learning too," shrugging he continues, "Besides, you're still human meaning you can't compel people so that makes doing the human things important."

She can't help but laugh hard at that which has her aunt knocking on the door and telling her that she better be getting ready for school. Still laughing she tells her aunt she's getting ready. A few minutes later she is fully dressed and has her backpack. It's just a matter of leaving to get to school on time. Once she is ready, he glances at her inquiring, "Want a ride or care to take yourself?"

Tilting her head to the side, she replies, "I'll take the ride, then it guarantees I'll see you afterwards." She grins, then gives a small shake of her head, "of course, Jenna is going to want to speak with me at some point today."

He grins as he wraps his arms her, "so we have dinner with your charming family, I am sure its Gilbert who will be the most annoying."

Nothing else is said as they head out except for a quick farewell to Jeremy and Jenna as they head out the door. He drops her off at school before heading out. When she walks in both Caroline and Bonnie give her a look. They also both turn away from her, which is what she expects. As the days goes by she continues to be happy despite the fact that neither of her friends seem to wish to speak with her. Then at lunch, Caroline does the surprising thing by sitting down by her.

Looking flustered Caroline asks, "So how was your weekend?"

She grins, replying, "Amazing, awesome, beautiful. I think I love New Orleans."

"New Orleans? But isn't that a long drive?" she inquires slightly confused.

Shrugging, she answers, "well it's normally a nine hour drive, but with the way Damon drives is like four and half, five hours."

Her eyes get wide as she questions, "Doesn't that scare you?"

Giving a shake of her head, she replies, "Nope, I know he will never willingly allow something to hurt me. Of course that does not mean we will not have occasional problems, but I hope that they stay fixable."

Caroline just shakes her head, "Well, the best of luck to you, he definitely has his flaws and I don't like him but if you want him, I guess I will support you." For a moment she pauses, "you realize that Bonnie probable is not going to be so easy to convince."

She nods, "I realize that."

As the lunch bell rings, the two girls pick up the remains of their lunch and head to their classes, Elena smiles at the fact Caroline plans to stay her friend despite her relationship with Damon. The rest of the day goes smoothly and when the last bell rings for the day she collects her stuff and heads out to the parking lot to discover Damon waiting for her standing by his car.

Giving a small smile, he opens the door to the car and closes it before getting into his side. Heading to her house, he asks how the day went, and she fills him in on his mostly boring day, her conversation with Caroline, and what her homework is. She inquires as to how his day is and she happily listens to him talk about getting home to discover Victoria, Necessity, and Shelia chatting in the library while Stefan was locked in his room with a bottle of animal blood to drink.

Upon getting to her house, he parked and escorted her in. Smiling at him, she invited him up her room while she did homework. He lounges on the bed watching her, as she sits at her desk with her books spread out around her. During the time between when they first get comfortable and Jenna announces dinner, she gets all of her homework done. From time to time, she asks the question out loud and he is more than happy to discuss it with her until she gets the answer. When she finishes her work she puts it all up before going over to the bed.

As soon as she is in reaching range, he grabs her pulling her down on top of him which makes her giggle just as soon as she is done being in shock. The next thing she knows he's captured his lips with hers and any thinking is out the window as she lays across him kissing him repeatedly. When Jenna calls for dinner, they are both hot and bothered, it takes Jeremy knocking on the door for her to move.

Dropping her head on his chest she groans "figures."

He chuckles, replying, "Yeah, well there is always after dinner."

She smiles, before getting up and going over to the door. Before she can open it, he is there and already opening it like the gentleman he had been raised to be. When they get down to the dinner table, Jenna, Jeremy and Uncle John are already sitting down so they take their spots between Jenna and Uncle John, with Jeremy across from them.

Jenna is the first one to speak, "how as your weekend Elena? Damon?" she inquires glancing between the two.

Damon smirks as he answers, "enlightening and enjoyable."

Elena grins, "It was a blast, we roamed all over New Orleans, went shopping, and ate out, and went dancing."

Jenna and Elena began to discuss the different places they had been, she could feel her uncle's anger growing with every minute but she was not going to be the first to mention it. Instead, she kept up talking with her aunt. Damon, meanwhile she could tell was enjoying her uncle's annoyance as he engaged Jeremy in a conversation about how his weekend went. The explosion did not happen until dinner was just about done.

"What and the hell is going on here?" he demanded angrily, continuing he snarls, "that man's a vampire, a demon, yet the three of you act like this is perfectly normal!"

Jenna is the one who answers him, "well that might be because before you showed up out of the blue it was normal. He cooks better than me too."

Jeremy and Elena cannot help but to laugh at that statement while Damon merely smirks, Uncle John just scowls and looks between them. Since he says nothing else, he must realize that he is complaining at a group that is not listening. After dinner, everyone but Uncle John go into the living room to watch a movie. Elena and Damon curl up together on the end of the couch, while Jeremy takes the other end and shakes his head at them. Jenna takes her normal chair.

About halfway through the movie, Jenna comments, "you two are cute you know."

She looks over at her aunt from her comfortable spot against his side raising an eyebrow.

Chuckling Jenna continues, "for the last what three months you two did this little dance around each other and now your all curled up on the side of the couch and cuddling. I'd complain about twenty-four being too old, except the whole lot of us knows the age difference is way bigger so I am not going to bother. Instead I am going to tell you to be careful, have fun, and for god's sake keep up in school so I don't have to feel like I am letting your mother down."

Smiling, she replies, "all right Jenna, not a problem."

The rest of the movie goes calmly. When it is done, Damon enquires if she would like to go to the boardinghouse for the night. He needs to check on Stefan and would prefer to not be around the asshole for the evening. She chuckles as she replies sure, and the two of them head off after she collects some clothing from her room and her book bag. At the boardinghouse, they fine Stefan still locked in his room refusing to drink the animal blood, Necessity sitting in the library reading, and Victoria sitting at the kitchen table with Shelia talking.

Damon gives a small shake of his head, "you know I would almost think you like it here if I did not know better," he tells Shelia after greeting the other two. She says something in response, but Elena does not hear it because she is on her way up stairs to say hi to Stefan.

When she gets to his room, she can see that it has a slightly purple glow to the door. "Stefan? Hey, how are you?"

He looks up from where he is laying on the bed, his eyes are hard. "You picked him. You fucking picked him!" he growls at her as he comes over by the door frame. When he tries to grab for her, a ball of ice encases his hand causing him to jump back. "Why? What the hell? Don't you realize he is evil? He never does anything for other people, only ever for himself?" his voice seems to be full of anguish.

Her eyes get cold as she continues to listen until eventually she snaps, "knock it off Stefan. Yes, I picked Damon over you. You don't have any room to speak, after all, you're the one who insisted that Bonnie cast the clarity spell on me a second time. If not for that spell it might have taken years to realize what I discovered in months. You know what else? At least he is reliable, I don't have to worry about him not being there when something happens because he is pouting or cannot control himself. So just knock it off. You should focus on getting better, that means drinking the animal blood in the bottle and getting your control back." For a moment she says nothing, just watching him, then, almost sighing she continues, "I have faith in you, that you can regain control, that you will respect my judgment, please do not make me be wrong."

Sighing she walks away from him, though she can hear him destroying his room as she leaves. When she spots Damon at the bottom of the steps, she steps into his embrace and hugs him back.

Glancing at him, she can see the hints of his normal smirk, "you were listening weren't you?"

He chuckles, the smirk fully emerging, "hell yes I was, I figured it would be amusing to listen to and it was."

She just shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "Oi, you're something else, but that's alright, 'cause you're my something else."

His smirk becomes a grin as he inquires, "care to try out my room? I has a lovely big bed in it, lots of space and comfortable, plus no pictures laying around that could cause problems."

She nods, but has to laugh at that reference to Stefan and having a picture of Katherine laying in his room in plain sight, the original reason she had turned to Bonnie for help before he had insisted that the spell had to be recast.

Grinning, she replies, "I think that could be fun, though I have to look at it to know for sure."

Nothing else is said for a time as the two of them head to his room, when he first opens the door for her, she glanced around at the well furnished room before setting her backpack down on the floor and exploring it. He just watches from the doorway until she gets over to the bed at which point he shuts the door and uses his vamperic speed to capture her in his arms and kiss her deeply.

For a few minutes nothing else happens, then he turns and falls backwards, taking her with him onto the bed. She giggles before they go back to kissing. As things heat up she becomes flustered and stops, frowning.

He raises an eyebrow inquiring, "now I know I did not fail miserably at kissing you senseless, so what's the problem?"

She sits up shrugging, "I feel guilty that Stefan is trapped in his room and can probably hear us."

Sighing, he rolls his eyes, "hmmmmm." For a few moments no one says anything, eventually an wicked smile curves his lips, "wards?" he mutters aloud. The air around him shifts a little and a small ball appears in front of them. She jumps but doesn't say anything at its arrival. "Can you make it so the room is sound proof for the night? Or make Stefan's room sound proof for the night?" The ball blinks out of existence just to be replaced by a letter y before fading away completely.

He smiles, glancing at her, "better?"

She nods, pouncing on him and kissing him. It is not just one kiss either, it's a multitude of kisses, some soft, some hard, some tentative, some passionate. Within a few minutes arousal fills the air to the point where even she can smell it with her human senses. Grinning, she stands up and takes her jacket off, before she can do much more Damon's fingers are there doing it for her. Once she is stripped, they work on stripping him down to match until they are both standing in the room wearing nothing.

Leaning down, he kisses her again, his tongue brushing against hers as he teases her mouth. Groaning, she falls backwards onto the bed, knowing that he will follow, and follow he does, never once breaking the kiss. On the bed, he covers her smaller body with his, using his arms to support himself so not to put too much pressure against her. She smiles as he goes from kissing her mouth, to trailing kisses down her jaw, throat, and collar bone to her chest.

Upon reaching her breasts, he takes the time to play with one, lapping at it with his tongue, gently nipping it, and carefully pushing it up and squeezing with his hands before switching to the other one. She cannot help but to moan at the feeling of his mouth, hands, and body against her. Finally he moves on from her breasts, to continue to kiss his way down her flat stomach to the v at her thighs and the tight curls that guard it.

Smirking, he parts her legs with his hands before leaning in to run his tongue down her slit. Lifting her hips towards him, she moans, "Damon," her head is thrown back against the pillows. Still smirking, he takes the time to lap at her outer lips before flicking his tongue within her, causing her to gasp in pleasure at the contact. Her hands come down to thread through his hair, holding him there while her hips continue to move against him. Within minutes she is crying out as her orgasm hits hard and furiously. Before she has time to calm down, he slides up her body, kissing her with little nips as he goes, as soon as he is above her, he pushes forward with his hips, lining their bodies up and joining them.

She can't help but to moan at the feeling of him filling her, his cock hitting all the right spots as he slow pulls out and slams back into her. Before long she is cumming again, this time bring him with her. As he gasps his name in pleasure, her name rolls off of his lips. For a time the two of them lay there, his body covering hers, touching yet not pressing against it too hard.

He smiles, rolling over and taking her with him, so she is lying across his chest and stomach. Brushing her hair out of her face, he murmurs, "love you Elena," as she drifts off to sleep within his arms.

_Sorry it took a couple of days to get it done, I have not had internet access and was not sure how much of the show I wanted to reference at first. So reviews anybody, whats your favorite part of the story so far? _


	31. Chapter 29

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Damon's POV  
The next few days settle into a routine of sorts. During the day Elena goes to school while he stays at the boardinghouse keeping an eye on a very pissed off Stefan. Occasionally she hangs out with Caroline for a bit. Then they eat dinner with her aunt and brother, though sometimes Gilbert is there as well which is annoying. At night, they head to the boardinghouse where she either gets her homework done while he reads, or they do stuff together such as watching movies, cuddling, and his personal favorite, sex.

They take turns trying to get Stefan to drink the animal blood but he keeps refusing. The girls have already taken off, but not before Necessity had explained that the wards surrounding his rooms are not tied to the house wards, so they will not bend to his will the way the house wards would. They will also not allow him to leave his room until he has regained control and wishes no harm on himself or others. In order to keep him from doing something stupid, the windows have been coated with ice-shadow, which prevents the sunlight from touching him even without his daylight ring in case he gets any bright ideas.

So when Alaric calls shortly before Elena is supposed to arrive he is at first frustrated, however he decides to go with him to see about the person Gilbert is calling because he is as curious as to what's going on. Besides, maybe Elena can get crabby to stop acting stupid if he is not in the house. Their conversation on the phone is brief but he knows that she is rolling her eyes at his sarcasm.

When Elena gets there, he kisses her in greeting before she says she is going to go visit with Stefan.

Elena's POV  
Heading to Stefan's room, she carries the fresh bottle of blood in order to try and get him to drink it. Knocking before opening the door, she notices the slight blue shimmer in the doorway and greets him with, "how ya feelin'?" trying to hand him the fresh blood, she continues to speak when he does not respond, "Damon says you need to drink up."

He just stares at the ground and gives a shake of his head. The expression on his face is one of extreme sorrow as he sits on the edge of the bed ignoring her.

Tilting her head to the side, she murmurs, "You need it Stefan, can't survive without it."

His head jerks up as he replies, "I don't wanna survive."

"What?" she questions, shocked. "Don't say that," she continues shaking her head in denial.

He looks back down, muttering, "I'm sorry Elena. No more. After what I have done it has to end. I just want it over."

Shocked, she backs away from the door and heads down stairs, Damon hasn't left yet but before she can say anything, he tells her, "you know, he is just being dramatic. He's not going to starve himself."

Sitting down on the couch she stares at the fire, asking, "Why would he say that?"

Coming up next to her, he replies, "He feels bad about hurting that girl, typical Stefan martyr stuff. It will pass."

She glances at him, "will it?"

Nodding, he replies confidently, "this isn't the first time this has happened, probably won't be the last."

For a moment she thinks on it, Damon has been around him longer, and she had noticed that he had a flair for dramatics previously, she is just not sure if this is dramatics or honest depression. Sighing, she nods, standing up to give him a hug.

"Thank you," she mutters as he hugs her back.

Rolling his eyes, he replies, "for what? Being honest, no reason not to be, I'm the cynical brother remember?"

Despite her worry, she cannot help but chuckle. Leave it to Damon to put things in perspective, she shrugs, answering, "Being here, not picking on me about it, I am sure it could be a tender spot if you wanted it to be."

He smirks at her, kissing her nose when she tilts her head up, "Its tender for him alright, not only has he lost control, he's lost the girl, so I am not feeling the urge to rub it in." for a moment he pauses before continuing, "will you be alright here for a bit by yourself? I have a errand to run with the teacher."

Giving him a questioning look, she nods, "of course, though the teacher? Do you mean Alaric?"

Still smirking, he nods, "yep, him. I'll tell you about it when I get back, alright?"

Again she nods, "you two becoming friends?"

He shrugs, "with the exception of you, I don't have friends." Seeing that she is about to disagree, he continues, "Possibly the girls, if you count them, but they're family so I don't. Stay down here, would you? Or at least don't visit with him too much, I am sure the wards Necessity put up will hold him, but there is no reason to test it."

She nods, agreeing, "alright, I will, be safe."

He leans down to kiss her, his tongue flicking across her lips until she opens them on a gasp before it traces her teeth and duels with hers. Stopping only when she is breathless, he mutters, "I will, you too." Before throwing his coat on and leaving.

She wanders around the library for a bit, before going up to Damon's room. While it is tempting to stop and visit with Stefan, she does not because she had told Damon she wouldn't. Instead, she gets her homework out and works on it. Even while thinking on what both brothers had said.

Damon's POV  
The two of them drive to the address that the phone number keeps appearing at. It is a hotel cabin, paid three months in advance. As the two of them walk up to the door, Damon looks around. They have a brief conversation, during which time Alaric asks if they can manage to not kill anyone tonight.

Smirking, he answers, "What you just brought me along for my company?"

Pushing the door open, Alaric steps through before Damon who pushes his foot over the barrier to see if he will need an invite or not. When he doesn't he steps in and heads to the kitchen while Alaric is going towards the living room, he has no sooner discovered the blood within the fridge than Alaric is being thrown into a wall by a vampire. The vampire staggers backwards as the brass knuckles Alaric is wearing slams into his stomach, he is about to go after Alaric again when Damon throws him backwards, fast moving from the kitchen to the living room.

"Boys, boys, boys, that's enough." As Damon turns to face him, he comments, "I know you."

"Damon?" the vampire questions, as he gets to his feet.

A curious look crosses Damon's face, "Your name is Henry, you were in the tomb."

"Yes sir," he replies before inquiring, "what are you doing here?"

Alaric catches Damon eye questioningly, staying silent, before looking back at the vampire that had attacked him. Damon takes a seat in the living room, while Alaric continues to lean on the wall. Henry grabs a bag of blood and empties it into a pair of glasses as he inquires, "So how do you know John Gilbert?"

Shrugging, he lies through his teeth, "known him for years, he's a good friend." Titling his head to the side, he asks, "How do you know him?"

Henry sets one of the glasses in front of Damon before grabbing his own, "I met him right after I got out of the tomb, he's been helping me out."

From his position by the wall, Alaric inquires, "Helping you out how?"

"Adapting," he answers, before continuing to list some of the changes to the world.

Again Alaric is the one to speak as he asks about whether there is anyone else living in the house or not. Henry becomes visibly nervous so Damon tries to settle him by going directly to the point. When Henry responds, Damon is sure that he is either lying or hiding something, but he continues to play along. So far being peaceful has work so there is no reason to start a fight yet. The conversation continues for a bit, including them asking Henry what he does for Gilbert and what Gilbert does for him.

When a cell phone starts ringing, Henry pulls it out of his pocket, and comments, "look it's John calling."

Smirking, Damon asks, "why don't I answer it?" before taking the phone from him and looking at the number. Glancing at Alaric he raises an eyebrow, Alaric shrugs in response.

Henry glances between the two men, asking nervously, "are you gonna answer that?"

Mockingly, Damon repeats the question, "Am I gonna answer that?"

Alaric shakes his head, palming a stake. Henry looks between the two of them again, agitated, before asking, "What's going on?" when neither answers he goes to attack Alaric but Damon grabs him by his shoulder and spins him around just as Alaric slams the stake through his back and into his heart.

Damon lets him drop to the ground has he dies, sarcastically commenting, "Let's not kill anyone tonight," as he pats Alaric on the arm. "Your words, just pointing that out," before turning away and walking out of the cabin.

After a few minutes he comes back in, as he does so, Alaric tells him, "This place is clean."

Stopping by the fridge he glances at its contents and pulls a pair of beers out, walking into the living room, he comments, "Well I found this behind the blood in the fridge," he tosses one to Alaric.

Sighing, Alaric complains, "ah man this is a real dead end."

Walking around Damon grabs the glass of blood from earlier, as he looks at some stuff. "I wouldn't beat myself up over it man. What did you think you were going to find huh? Isobel with cigar and slippers?"

Alaric starts chuckling at that, rubbing his face he mutters, "oh man, I, I gotta stop this. I can't keep searching for her."

"Really?" grabbing the desk chair, he continues, "after only two years, that's moderately healthy."

Shaking his head, Alaric responds, "what are you going on? One-hundred-forty-six?"

Sitting in the chair backwards he replies, "Originally I figured two-hundred was probably a good stopping point, but I'm not looking anymore. Haven't been for a couple of weeks now, no reason to."

Still shaking his head, Alaric comments, "No answer is enough, I keep thinking I wanna know why, when, the precise moment when my wife decided life with me wasn't enough."

For a few minutes the two of them sit there and discuss Isobel. After a bit, he makes a comment that offends Alaric, at which point Alaric declares that he is done with Isobel and everything that goes with her before he walks out the door and to the car. Shaking his head he thinks, that was me just a few short weeks ago about Katherine, before he also heads out and gets in the car.

The ride back goes smoothly, silently. Both men lost in their thoughts, when they get to the house, he nods at Alaric before getting out and going in. Listening, he can hear that Elena is in his room writing and Stefan is still within his room moving about.

When he gets up to his room the sight that greets him is Elena laying on the bed, her homework spread all around her on the mattress. His radio is going with the Anberlin CD playing.

Clicking it off, he smiles at her, "have a good night?"

She rolls over and gets up, "I did, how did you errand go?"

"Futile," he tells her, as he gives her a hug, "though I think I witnessed the teacher having an existential crisis. He thought he had found Isobel and really it was just one of the vampires from the tomb."

She raises an eyebrow, before inquiring, "Mind if I check on Stefan? I have stayed in here the entire time you were gone since you asked me to stay away from him."

He nods once, kissing her, "be careful, make noise if you need me."

Smiling she agrees before going to speak with Stefan.

What a very long night, he thinks, though I think I might have a drinking buddy in Alaric. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have friends. Hell, I get along fine with Jenna and Jeremy, why not add Alaric to the mix? It might be interesting.

Elena's POV  
Heading down the hall to Stefan's room she knocks on the door before stepping in, he still has not drunk the blood she had left for him though he is back to being perched on the bed.

"Stefan, you really need to drink this." She tells him as she takes a seat next to him. He flinches away from her, refusing the bottle.

Frustrated, he glances at her before moving away again. "You smell like him, go the hell away."

For a few more minutes she continues to sit there, but she realizes that he is not going to speak with her so she sighs and leaves. When she leaves she goes to ask Damon what he thinks Stefan is so depressed about. He groans, sprawling on the bed, all her stuff pushed off to the side, and pats the spot next to him. She climbs up on the bed and cuddles up with him while she waits for him to answer. It takes a few minutes, but eventually he tells her about the waking up in transition, Stefan going to see their father and accidently killing him, and then bringing a female from the village back for him to feed from by the time he is done, her mind is whirling as she makes the connections.

Damon just holds her while she thinks, giving her time to process. Stefan doesn't want to die because of what he did to that girl. He wants to die because of what he did to his father and brother. Other things throughout his vamperic life might also be affecting his choice, but that is the biggest part of it. Damon had freely admitting to swearing revenge and holding up that revenge, but also admits that he is beginning to get away from that. She can only think that the reason he is getting away from that is he now has other choices. Again she is reminded of what Victoria said about options and knows that both brothers have had their options stripped from them at one point or another. The difference is Damon deals with it, while Stefan does not and it is now eating him up inside.

Sighing, she sits up and kisses him on the cheek. "I'll be right back. I think I know how to pull him out of this."

He shrugs, stretching out, "I'll be here waiting, still just a noise away if you need me."

She heads back to Stefan room, not even bothering to knock before she goes in. "I know why you feel guilty, Damon told me the story of your change. He told me that originally both of you had chosen to die rather than change, yet you both ended up changing. So now you want to die because you failed to then, and you feel guilty, oh so guilty but it's not going to change anything, it's not going to fix the things that went wrong."

He growls at her, prowling around the room until he finally stops by the window and looks at her saying, "Every single person that's been hurt, every single life that has been lost is because of me." his voice is full of sorrow and frustration.

Frowning, she changes tactics, "The night that my parents died, I blew off family night so I could go to some party, I ended up getting stranded and they had to come pick me up. That's why we ended up in the car at Wickery Bridge and that's why they died. Our actions are what set things in motion, but we have to live with that."

His expression goes from frustrated to confused to frustrated again. "I made a choice Elena, because of that choice lots of people were hurt."

Passionately she argues, "You also made a choice to stop, to reject the person that the blood made you. You made a choice to be good Stefan."

Shaking his head he tries to get her to stop, that's not what he wants to hear. She pressed forward, pointing out the fact that his choice to do good is the only reason she is alive but he still doesn't want to explain. Eventually, she is able to get him to open up about the real reason as the sun peaks in the sky and the windows light up, the glaze over them seems to be dimming, as if giving him the option to end it or to keep on living. As he tries to explain, the room is washed in a glow of light causing him to step backwards.

She listens before offering him his ring that she had picked up off of the dresser. He takes the ring and puts it on just as the rest of the wards drop from the room and windows, causing him to blink in the sudden light.

Giving him a hug, she tells him, "We're friends. Friends stick together in times of need."

He frowns but follows her as she leaves the room, glancing into Damon's room tells her he is not there so she heads down stairs, knowing his other normal haunt is in the library. When they step into the library, Damon comments, "Little boy lost."

She glances between them, knowing that they need to talk. Smiling, she tells Damon, "I'll be upstairs," before turning to Stefan and saying, "Goodnight Stefan."

Without waiting for a reply she heads up to Damon's room and grabs her journal. She has a lot to write about while they are having their very long overdue discussion.

Damon's POV  
Feeling the wards shift, he heads down to the library, he had heard part of their discussion and knew that he was going to have to speak to Stefan about it which he would rather not do in his room. Minutes after getting comfortable with a tumbler of bourbon, Stefan and Elena walk in. He makes a smartass comment, before Elena says goodnight and Stefan comes over to where he is sitting.

Shoving his hands in his pocket, Stefan tells him, "thank you."

Swirling his bourbon around he replies, "no Stefan, thank you, you're back on Bambi blood and I am the big, bad ass brother again. All is right in the world."

Stefan sits down in the chair near him, "No, I mean it, thank you, for helping her take care of me, for having Necessity here to help as well."

Glancing away for a moment, he informs Stefan, "You brood too much. Everything in this planet is not your fault. My actions, what I do, it's not your fault. I own them, they belong to me. You're not allowed to feel my guilt."

Shocked, Stefan inquires, "You feel guilt?"

Taking a sip of his bourbon, he replies, "If I wanted to, its there." As Stefan gets up he comments, "did you know that Emily waited until after I turned to tell me that she had been successful protecting Katherine with her spell, she didn't want me to know about the tomb, said it would have impacted my decision."

Standing by the door Stefan answers, "she didn't want either one of us to turn, she said it was curse."

"Witches, judgy little things," he gives a shake of his head. He likes the girls alright, but they are not quite like the rest of the witches he knows.

Stefan glances at the floor before asking, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Answering, he says, "'Cause I didn't want you to know, I hated you and sometimes still do."

Nodding, Stefan mutters, "I know."

Setting his glass down, he stands up as he remarks, "Not because you forced me to turn."

A confused looks settles on Stefan's face, "Then why?"

Looking at him serious, he strides over to in front of his brother before replying, "Because she turned you. It was supposed to just be me Stefan. Just me," he walks over to the stairs before stopping, "but it doesn't matter now."

Stefan watches him as he goes up the stairs, but doesn't comment.

When he gets up to his room, Elena has all of her stuff put way except for the black journal the girls had given her the first time she was there. In that she is writing furiously as she lounges on the bed. He shuts the softly, but it was just enough that she was apparently startled, as she gives a small gasp. Closing the journal she sits up and raises an eyebrow at him, questioningly.

He sighs, sitting down on the bed, "We talked," he tells her, knowing that's what she is wondering but not wanting to say much more.

She nods but doesn't push the issue. Smiling, she sits on her knees behind him and starts rubbing his shoulders. He just relaxes and enjoys the feeling.


	32. Chapter 30

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Alaric's POV  
After dropping Damon off at his house he heads to the Grill in order to get a drink and think about everything that had happened. His mind is a mass of frustration and chaos as he tries to decide what he wants to do. When he hears a soft female voice say hello Ric he almost thinks that he is dreaming before he turns to see her standing just a few feet away.

"Isobel," he comments, watching her tilt her head to the side and smile.

Sighing, she comments, "It's good to see you," nodding slightly as she speaks she continues, "You look good. I hear that you're a high school history teacher. How is that?" her voice is slightly breathy as she speaks to him.

Giving a shake of his head he inquires, "Where have you been Isobel?"

She looks down before answering, "I don't have any reasons that are going to comfort you. I don't have any explanations that will satisfy you." Turning full towards him she tells him seriously, "I wanted this."

Watching her, he asks, "It's that simple?"

Nodding, she replies, "Yeah, you were supposed to mourn me and move on."

"You were my wife, I love you, how could I not search for you?" his expression is one of disbelief that she would even suggest such a thing as he watches her reaction.

Her expression seems to be warring between frustrated, disbelief, and shock as she tells him, "Because I wasn't lost Ric," she gives a small shake of her head. Looking down, she starts writing something while she changes the subject, "I understand that you know my daughter Elena, and I hear that she has been looking for me." When she is done writing she stands, placing the paper in front of him, "I want you to arrange a meeting between us."

He looks at the paper, lifting it up before commenting, "You want me to deliver a message." While it is technically a question, his tone makes it a statement. He is not sure what surprises him more about the situation, the fact that she is here or the fact that she seems to think that he will be an errand boy.

Giving a small smile she replies, "Yeah."

He snorts, dropping the paper on the counter, "screw you," comes his answer, "you selfish bitch." Standing up, he walks out of the Grill, not once looking back.

He is furious at her for this behavior even as he mourns her loss. Maybe Damon has it right and it's better to cut the losses about those who have betrayed him. In this case his wife, though he is sure it will take some time to get pasted that, he figures he is developing something with Jenna, perhaps that will be his choice. Maybe it would be a good idea to talk to her about Isobel, she already knows about vampires so maybe that would be best.

He had just unlocked his car and was opening the door when Isobel reappears at his side, and shuts the door. Frustrated he demands, "What do you want from me?"

"I told you," comes her answer.

"I'm not doing anything for you," he replies, going to open the door again.

Snarling, she grabs him by the throat and lifts him off of the ground, choking him as she informs him, "You better tell Elena that I want to meet or I will start killing the citizens of this town one by one, starting with your history students. Got it?"

Dropping him, she walks away without waiting for any type of reply.

Slowly he picks himself up off of the ground, groaning as he does so. She has quite a bit of strength in her and his throat now stings like hell. A sheet of paper catches his attention; it is the one with her information on it.

Sighing, he figures he better tell her about it sooner than later.

Elena's POV  
The last several days have passed in a blur, while she had seen Damon regularly it does not seem like nearly enough. However, Caroline had reminded her that she said she would help with the Miss Mystic float so she is planning on calling and talking to Damon for a bit, check in with him, and see how Stefan is. Plus arrange for their next meet up.

When she first calls, he jokes around with her about how Stefan is and gets her worried before telling her that Stefan is back to being his normal moody self. They agree to meet up afterwards. Grinning to herself she heads to the school in order to help with the float. When she first pulls in she spots Stefan and greets him, before the two of them walk up to the school together. As soon as they walk into the door Alaric spots her and tells her they need to talk, leading her to his classroom with Stefan following close behind.

She's startled when Alaric uses his cell to call Damon to the school as well, so they settle in to wait for him. Something must be seriously wrong for it Alaric to wish for Damon's presence.

Caroline's POV  
While sitting at one of the lunch tables with Bonnie, they are discussing what the previous Miss Mystic float looked like and what they want to do with their float this year. After the two of them agree on Gone with the Wind, she glances around for Elena and is frustrated not to see her.

When Bonnie makes a rude noise about Elena, she confronts her on the fact that she is not really acting like a friend right now and the two girls are fighting. She wants to know why. Bonnie tells her she just doesn't like Damon and that there is nothing else to it, which causes the girls to discuss why both think he is a total ass and all the reasons neither are happy with him being around Elena. However, just before the conversation ends, Caroline makes one very thought provoking comment.

"Damon might be an ass, but he makes her smile. However as her friends, it's our duty to be there for her so if he starts being an ass towards her she has support. After all, she would be there for us."

Elena's POV  
When Damon walks in his opening comment is sarcastic but he quickly sobers up when he sees her expression. Concern, he asks what he missed and Alaric tells the three of them about his meeting with Isobel the previous night. Damon quizzes him about what Isobel knows, but doesn't get any answers because Alaric does not know.

All the while her mind is whirling, she has already realized what Isobel wants. She wants to met with her, for what reason she does not know but she does know she is not getting anywhere near Isobel by herself. The clarity that had allowed her to understand everything so clearly about Stefan and Damon seems to abandon her now, but she knows that it is just a lack of details that is making it hard to figure out Isobel's motives.

Eventually Damon asks, "What does she want?" in his sarcastic way, which causes Elena to break from her inner dialogue to reply.

"She wants to see me."

He spins around to face her, noticing her troubled expression he is by her side in an instant, "You don't have to see her if you don't want to."

She gives him a small smile, shaking her head. "I kind of have to." She tells him before reminding him, "she threaten to start killing people if I don't."

Smirking at her to lighten the mood, he replies, "oh, I am guessing that's not okay with you then."

Shaking her head, she answers, "It's alright. I wanna meet her. If I don't I know I will regret it."

He nods, murmuring to her, "I'll be there for you."

Taking his hand she smiles, particularly as he lifts hers to his lips and gently kisses her knuckles.

Alaric makes the call and they agree to meet at the Grill. Stefan decides to go with and keep an eye on Elena from the pool area. While Damon decides to sit at the bar and listen in, he'll be close enough to hell but not so close as to be noticed. Alaric has to stay and watch the students at the school.

The three of them head out, she is concerned about the plan but knows that Damon will do everything he can to protect her, Stefan will do his best as well but she is still nervous about meeting her birth mother. After all, what do you say to the woman who gave you up, decided to become a vampire, and got changed by the vampire you are currently dating? It's just unnerving.

Sitting at one of the tables at the Grill she can easily see both of the Salvatore brothers. While Stefan is playing pool, he never turns his back towards her. Damon on the other hand is facing away but has the bar mirror directly in front of him so he can still watch her without being easily noticed.

Staring into the space between the brothers, she mutters, "thank you both for coming." She spots Stefan nod in response while Damon just raises his glass before taking a sip. Smiling at his antics because she knows they are to help her stay calm, she glances at Damon's back continuing, "I love you."

Again he raises his glass, only this time he catches her eye in the mirror and smiles back, before jerking his head a bit to get her to look towards the other seat. Just as she does so, a dark haired woman removes her coat and sits down in front of her.

As Isobel sits down she makes a comment about how surprisingly much Elena looks like Katherine. For a moment they have a brief discussion on Katherine before Elena tries asking who her father is. Isobel gives a smart ass answer about him being a waste of space before commenting on Elena asking so many questions. When the question of why Isobel told the man to kill himself comes up, she replies it's in her nature as a vampire.

She shakes her head, "No, it's not, I know other vampires. That's not true."

Smirking, Isobel comments, "What? You mean your boyfriend over there by the pool table, Stefan Salvatore? Why Stefan? Why didn't you go for Damon? Or do you enjoy them both like Katherine did." The look on her face is full of sarcasm and malice.

Elena stares at her shocked for a moment, blinking quickly. "I'm not with Stefan." She tells her softly, waiting to watch her reaction. Isobel's eyes shoot up. Apparently that is startling information to her. Eventually she asks, "Why did you want to meet me? It can't be to just catch up."

Tilting her head to the side, Isobel replies, "Because I am curious about you but the real reason is I want what your uncle wants: Jonathan Gilbert's invention."

Shaking her head, she inquires, "How do you know my uncle?"

Isobel smirks, explaining about how she had spent a lot of time here when she was younger, how Uncle John had a crush on her, and how Uncle John was the one who had first told her about the vampires. Mildly upset, she stands up telling Isobel she doesn't have what she wants. Isobel grabs her arm, hard enough to stop her but not so hard as to truly injure her, Stefan though starts to come towards them even as Damon stays still at the bar, watching. She knows he will not move unless he feels that she is truly endangered.

Isobel tells her to sit back down and have Stefan back off, she nods to Stefan, who steps back, still keeping an eye on her as she sits back down. The discussion after that is brief. Isobel states that she wants the invention, while Elena replies that Damon would never give it to her. Giving her an evil smile, Isobel comes back with a comment on what's to follow is her fault before grabbing her coat and leaving.

No sooner than she is out the door and both Stefan and Damon are at table, when she glances over she sees Bonnie. Standing, she hopes that Bonnie will finally talk to her. As soon as she spots the brothers Bonnie's face changes to something dark, and she turns and leaves without saying anything.

Damon steps next to her, telling her, "I've got something to take care, I will tell you about it when I have an answer, stay safe. Try to enjoy today."

She nods, giving him a quick hug. She doesn't actually want to let him go but knows that she has to.

Stefan steps up next to her and mutters, "how about we go work on the float?"

Again she nods, before walking out the door, leaving Stefan to follow if he wants.

Damon's POV  
When looking for a vampire that you had turned yourself, it is important to consider what you know about them. In this case the fact that he knew how to find her based on housing made it a cinch for him. It took only a few brief moments to figure out where she was since he kept himself up-to-date on the houses for sale in the area.

Fast traveling he got there long before she did and decides to play strip poker with the female thrall. Nothing will happen with her because he has Elena, but he still plans to have fun. A short while later, Isobel comes walking in just as he is getting ready to unbutton his pants. She tells the thrall to go elsewhere, while he redoes his pants and makes appreciative noises at the thrall.

Pulling his shirt back on, he comments, "I was just having some fun with your naughty, little minion."

Glancing at him she asks, "How did you find me?"

Fast moving he is before her in an instant, "I considered all the bank own foreclosures and found the most expensive one."

Looking up at him, she replies, "Oh I should have known, you're the one that taught me that."

Smirking down at her from just inches away he makes an affirmative noise.

Tilting her head to the side she inquires, "What are you doing here?"

Almost flirtingly, he answers, "You made quite a stir with the way you blew into town."

While he had once been attracted to Isobel, he no longer was. Particularly when compared with Elena who had chosen him for him. However, he had always been a flirt, so he continued to do so now as he dealt with Isobel. For a few minutes they go back and forth about why she is in town, how she knows Gilbert, and why she wants the device. When she tries to throw him off by bringing Katherine into the picture he just smirks at her, he had heard the conversation in the Grill so this was not new information though he is not telling her that. The conversation turns to why she is doing Katherine's errands, and she replies that he knows what Katherine is like when she does not get what she wants.

He just smirks again, commenting, "And so do I."

"Oh really Damon, you do?" he continues to smirk as he turns away.

She goes to kiss him, and for a moment he allows it, as soon as the desire begins to take over he slams her into the floor by her throat. Softly snarling, he informs her, "Now that I have you attention, listen up. You do not come into my town. Threaten people I care about, going after Elena, bad move. You leave her alone or I will rip you to piece. I do believe in killing the messenger, you know why?" getting close to her face his voice is barely louder than a breath when he finishes, "Because it sends a message."

Slamming her head against the floor, he continues, "Katherine wants something from me, you tell that little bitch to come get it herself."

Fast moving he leaves her lying where she is and heads to Elena's house. He promised her that he would fill her in, and he has a feeling that she never went to the school. Besides that it is getting rather late, so it is nearing when they were going to meet at her house anyways. Shaking his head, he clamors in the window, calling out softly, "Elena," to keep from scaring her when he comes through. She looks up from where she is at her desk writing and smiles when she sees who it is.

Getting out of the window he plops down on the bed and pats the spot next to him. She closes the journal, coming over to the bed and curls up against his side. Speaking softly he fills her in on his visit to Isobel, including the strip poker with the thrall and the kiss started by Isobel that ended with him slamming her into the floor. He expects that she will be unhappy about it but figures it is best to be honest. After all, not being honest is how Stefan managed to lose her and that's not what he wants.

When he is done speaking, neither says anything for a few minutes. Eventually she inquires, "Where you going to do something with the thrall?"

He shakes his head, "no, she's not you."

Elena nods, giving a small smile, "then its okay. I trust you, you didn't have to tell me yet you did."

Shrugging, he replies, "Well I am not a bone head like my brother, that's one of those things it's better to be honest about."

She tilts her head up, kissing is jaw, "you're definitely not like your brother."

He smirks at her, leaning down just a hair to kiss her back. His smirk shifts into a smile as they make out, but he doesn't press her any further afterwards. Instead, he wraps his arms around her and holds her, figuring that it's not sex she needs right now, its comfort.


	33. Chapter 31

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

Bonnie's POV  
After walking away from Elena at the Grille she had returned to her grandmother's house and went into her room to sleep only sleep would not come to her. Instead, she was left lying on her bed, wide awake trying to come to grips with the expression she had seen on her friends face and her reaction. Her friend had obviously been in pain and she had ignored it because she didn't feel like talking to the Salvatore brothers. She had told Elena she wasn't going to make her chose, yet her behavior towards Elena said otherwise. Caroline had been right, it is better to be there for her than to abandon her, what kind of friend does that?

Sighing, she gets up and goes down to the kitchen to get something to drink. While she is doing so , her grandmother comes into the kitchen and sits down at the table.

"What's bothering you Bonnie?" Gran asks, watching her.

She sits down with her cup of milk and sighs again, "Elena," she answers.

"What about Elena?" her Gran continues.

Frowning she replies, "well she is hanging out with the Salvatore brothers, they're vampires. I don't like them, but she always seems to be with one of them. It was bad enough when it was just Stefan, now she seems to be around Damon a lot too."

Shaking her head, her Gran responds, "Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie." She pauses a moment before continuing, "Is the reason she is with them so much is because you have rejected her? The Spirits talk, child, and according to them you have been like this or several weeks now. So why is it now bothering you when it didn't before?"

Blinking, she cannot respond to her Gran, because her Gran is right. She has no right to be annoyed over it now when she was the one who had started it. Drinking her milk she decides that first thing in the morning she is going to go visit with Elena. When she is done with her milk she kisses her Gran on the forehead before going back to bed.

First thing the following morning she dresses and heads over to Elena's house. Knocking once on the door, she shoves her hands into her pockets.

"Hi," Elena greets her, rather abruptly.

"Hey," she replies, glancing down. With her hands still in her pockets she spreads them out, causing her coat to fan out as well. "I couldn't sleep last night," she tells her, watching Elena' expression, "You were obviously upset about something and I just walked away. That's not me," her voice is rather serious and just a bit sad as she explains why she is there. "That can't be us. You're my friend Elena, if you need me I am here for you." Giving a small shake of her head she finishes, "and I am sorry I could not show you that yesterday."

Elena's throat works as if she is full of extreme emotions before she final comments, "I met my birth mother."

Nodding, she inquires, "oh, how was it?"

Elena's eyes fill with tears as she tries to answer and Bonnie steps up to give her a hug., holding her friend as she cries. It must not have been a good meeting for her to respond like this, she thinks. For a few minutes the two of them just stand there, before they decided to head in together to the float. Along the way they talk about what has going on in the last few months. She is surprised at how much Damon seems to be a part of her friends life, even more surprising is the concept that he is not the bad guy, which is something that she is not yet ready to let go of.

Before they get to the school, she asks Elena to meet her in the science classroom. There is something that she wants to talk to her about. When Elena gets to the science classroom, she spots the book and comments on it.

Bonnie nods, replying, "I have been going through it since it appeared at our house, check this out." She has the book open to the pages that detail the creation of the vampire compass. As Elena looks on, she shows her the daylight rings, and the mysterious device entries as well. Explaining to her that Jonathan Gilbert never really created anything, everything had been secretly spelled instead. The next few minutes are covered with the girls discussing the information. When they are done discussing it, Elena tells her she'll talk to her later.

Bonnie watches her leave, knowing that she is going to discuss it with the Salvatore brothers and finding that it does not bother her for a change.

Elena's POV  
After her enlightening discussion with Bonnie she goes looking for Stefan, he is supposed to be here to help make the float though she does not know if he will be or not. Damon had told her he would be by later, but she doubted he was here already. However she was contemplating calling them when her brother comes up to her to ask about Ana. A confused look crossed her face since the last thing she knew they were still seeing each other regularly, much to their Uncles annoyance. She tells him that she has not heard from her lately and he shakes his head as he walks away.

When she goes to turn around Isobel is standing there. They have a short discussion, most of it cold, before Isobel has her male thrall Mark jump on the trailer Matt is working on. It slams down on Matt's arm, breaking it. She tries to rush to Matt, but Isobel holds her in place. The discussion continues for a moment, completely threatening before Isobel vanishes, taking Jeremy with her.

Elena calls out for him, looking around to try and find him but can't find him anywhere. Freaking out, she grabs her phone and calls Damon.

Jeremy's POV  
Who the hell knocked me out? he thinks to himself as he comes to in the middle of the living room of an expensive house. As he sits up, he looks around spotting Elena's birth mother and some other guy that he only vaguely recalls seeing at the float making. Isobel walks away but comes back a few minutes later with Uncle John.

When Uncle John sees him, he gets pissed, demanding to know why he was there. Jeremy cannot help but to be shocked at his uncle knowing a vampire after all of the shit he has given Elena and him over their vampire friends, particularly since he seems so familiar with the vampire. Eventually it looks like she is going to do whatever it is his uncle wants when sudden her female servant grabs a light and smashes it into the back of his head.

His uncle hits the ground stunned for a moment, before he has a chance to do anything. The guy that grabbed him starts kicking him in the stomach while the female holds him down by his throat. Isobel grabs his hand with the Gilbert ring and removes it from him, muttering, "Let's see how you do without this."

Oh brother, he thinks, what kind of shit is going on this time?

Elena's POV  
At the school, Elena is pacing as she waits for Damon to arrive. Stefan and Bonnie are talking about how to get Damon to hand over the device, though it is truthfully more Stefan than Bonnie. She is just about ready to leave to go find him when he walks in.

Taking a glance around, he sighs, "I am not going to like this am I?"

Quickly, before the other two can say anything and get on his nerves, she explains the situation. He is leery of handing over the device and offers to find a way to get him back himself but Stefan shots that plan down. Bonnie agrees to remove the spell and while he doesn't believe her, he groans, pulling the device out of his pocket and handing it to Elena.

Hugging her, he whispers, "You know I will do anything to keep you happy. I just hope your little friend does what she says she will."

Returning the hug, she nods against his chest, murmuring, "thank you." When he's done hugging her, she hands the device to Bonnie, "Here you go, thank you Bonnie."

_Hi all, sorry it has been a few days since I last posted, work, Thanksgiving, and doctors appointments have kept me super busy. This chapter is a bit short, but the next will be a bit longer I think since it will include the casting and after effects of such. As always, reviews are appreciated!_


	34. Chapter 32

_Disclaimer: Anything familiar is probably owned by L.J. Smith or any of the companies that deal with the Vampire Diaries_

_Sorry it has taken so long to update, life has been crazy and Choices has been stuck in my head. I will be alternating between the two depending on who is being louder. Thanks for the reviews, they are always appreciated._

Damon's POV  
The four of them head over to the boardinghouse after he gives Elena the second half of the device so that Bonnie can cast the spell to disarm it. While he has faith in Elena doing what she says she will, he seriously doubts that Bonnie will as well. Elena had opted to ride with him, while Bonnie was in her own vehicle and Stefan in his. Despite the fact that Elena is with him, she is sitting mostly silently, her hand wrapped around the one of his that is not on the steering wheel.

When they reach the edge of the property, Bonnie's car stalls, it is keeping her from entering, when she gets out of the car to walk around front she finds that she cannot because of some type of barrier. Damon watches this from behind her vehicle within his with narrow eyes. Focusing on the warding he asks it to let her in and her car roars to life, she gives a shake of her head before getting in and driving up to the house.

By the time all four get there, he knows that Elena's nerves are through the roof for worry over her brother. For this alone I might have to find and kill that bitch, he thinks as he pulls into the driveway and turns the car off. Lifting their adjoined hands, he softly kisses her knuckles murmuring, "don't worry, we will get him back."

She nods and the two of them get out of the car, heading into the library. Bonnie has headed in and started to set up with Stefan pulling in last. While he hears Bonnie chanting over the device he flips open his phone, making yet another phone call to the girls. For himself he would never bother, but this involves Elena and for her he would ask for assistance. Particularly since the wards had indicated she meant all three of them harm which is not something he is happy about.

On the second ring, the phone is answered, "Hello Uncle, we will be there as soon as it is time. Worry not for Elena, the threat is not to her at this time." Before he has a chance to say anything, the line goes dead and he knows that they will be there before something happens to Elena which is all he asks.

Stepping up behind Elena, he places a hand on her shoulder that she leans into. She is watching Bonnie with wide eyes as she her friend helps her out. He waits with her until Bonnie flares all the fires around the room, declaring that it is done. Smiling, Elena steps forward as she offers the device and takes it.

Being his sarcastic self, he queries, "Now what?"

Elena glances at him, "Now we give it to Isobel so she will leave," she replies as she looks down at it.

He nods, watching Bonnie out of the corner of his eye. The look of hate on her face makes him believe that she lied, but since he cannot prove it he says nothing. Instead he watches as Elena shoves it in her pocket before pulling out her phone and calling Isobel. A time and place is set up for them to meet. Stefan walks out of the room, with Bonnie close behind.

Stepping back up to Elena, he kisses the top of her head as he hugs her, "Don't worry, we will get him back."

She turns in his arms hugging him back, fear is written all over her face but she is still smiling. "I know," she replies.

Elena's POV  
A moment later they both break away from the hug before going into the entrance hall where Bonnie is standing by the door. Bonnie and her hug each other before Bonnie wishes her the best of luck and leaves. She turns around to look at both the Salvatore brothers standing on opposite sides of the room but both watching her carefully.

Glancing between them she inquires, "Your both going to be there, right?"

Damon nods once. His eyes have that look that dares someone to get in his way. While Stefan replies, "Of course, nothing will happen to you."

Smiling at them she heads outside and climbs into Damon's car so they can head to town. They follow, Stefan using speed walking, and Damon climbing into his car as well. A few minutes later they part ways a few blocks from the meeting place and she walks the rest of the distance. Even though they are out of sight she knows that they are nearby. She stops when she gets to the spot, and spins around as she feels something move past her.

Isobel is standing just feet away from her, "Where is the device?"

Lifting her head, she responds, "Where's my brother?"

Cocking her head to the side, Isobel comments, "this isn't a negotiation. Where's the invention."

She crosses her arms, her eyes narrowing as she repeats, "Where's my brother?"

Smirking, Isobel asks, "Do you really think I came alone?"

For a second a confused look crosses her face before she glances behind herself to see the two thralls stepping up. Glancing back at Isobel she repeats the question back to her, "Do you really think I came alone?" Lifting her head, she motions to the brothers who have just stepped up behind Isobel.

Isobel glances behind herself, spotting them, before answering, "For god's sake, call home."

Once more a confused look crosses her face. What does Isobel mean by that? The clarity is telling her that Isobel had released her brother even before the trade was to take place, so she had been vert confidant that it would but why? "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Isobel repeats herself, "Call home, ask to speak to your brother Jeremy."

Brushing her hair off of her face, she grabs her phone out of her pocket and calls the house. Jeremy is the one to answer, "Jeremy are you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all fine. Uncle John hit his head, it was an accident." There is a pause before he says the word accident as if it really isn't.

In the background she can hear Jenna commenting, "We're all laughing."

After another pause, he continues, "I, umm, I'm okay."

Sighing internally, she thinks that there is going to be a family meeting in the near future. "I'll be home soon," she tells him, "alright?"

"Yeah," he answers sighing before hanging up.

Turning back towards Isobel she comments, "You were never going to hurt him."

"No," Isobel responds, "I was going to kill him. Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me, I don't have any." She gives a shake of her head through most of it.

Frowning, Elena changes tactics, "But you took a risk with Damon, how did you know that he was going to give it to me?"

A serious look crosses her face, "because he is in love with you," she replies as she holds her hand out for the device.

She glances over Isobel's shoulder at him and Stefan, watching as he flickers a look at Stefan before returning his attention to Isobel, while Stefan looks down at the ground, anger and disappointment in his face.

Pulling the device out of her pocket she steps forward and places it on Isobel's hand. "Thank you," she tells her.

A flash of puzzlement crosses Isobel's face as she asks, "For what?"

Shaking her head, she replies, "For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact."

Blinking at her, Isobel replies, "Goodbye Elena," pausing for a moment she tilts her head to the side, "as long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart, she got out, but we all know that you're not Katherine." She rakes her gaze down her, continuing, before walking past her and leaving.

Elena turns and watches her leave as both Damon and Stefan step up beside her. Turning to Damon, he hugs her as Stefan watches with jealousy on his face.

Eventually Stefan leaves and Damon takes her home. As she passes Jenna, she asks her to come upstairs. Jenna nods, and follows her, when they get up there Damon has just clamored through the window in her room and smirks at her before getting comfortable on the bed. Shaking her head, she bypasses her room and goes to Jeremy's. Since Christmas she has made it a point to be honest with both of them about what is going on. With that in mind the three sit down in Jeremy's room and shuts the door. While she knows that Damon can hear them, he is not the one she is concerned about listening, that belongs purely to her Uncle John.

The three of them have a chat over what has happened including Jeremy's being taken by vampires, the device, and what happened with John. When the conversation is done she hugs both Jeremy and Jenna goodnight, before going to her room. Upon entering her room, Damon stands up and comes over to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"You need to rest," he tells her as he kisses her forehead softly.

Tilting her head up, she kisses him on the lips, "come to bed with me?"

He smirks, taking off his over shirt while she changes into her night clothes. A few minutes later they are curled up together on her bed. Sighing against his throat, her last thoughts are that she is lucky despite everything to have a brother and aunt who love her, and this vampire who seems to want her more than anything.


End file.
